A new song is out now from Dolly Parton. The Country Music Hall of Fame member just released “If You Hadn’t Been There,” in honor of her husband, Carl Dean. Dean was 82 years old when he passed away on March 3.
The song says in part, “I wouldn’t be here, if you hadn’t been there / Holding my hand, showing you care / You made me dream, more than I dared / And I wouldn’t be here, if you hadn’t been there / You were my rock, a soft place to land / My wings, my confidence, you understand / You’re willingness beyond compare / No, I wouldn’t be here, if you hadn’t been there.”
Parton opens up about the song on social media.
“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,” Parton writes. “We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.”
Parton recently opened up about the loss of her husband, whom she wed in 1966.
“This is a love note to family, friends and fans,” Parton shares. “Thank you for all the messages, cards and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband, Carl. I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know that it has meant the world to me. He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you.”
Parton is without question one of the most successful artists of all time, of any genre. But when she was not busy with her career, she and Dean enjoyed doing simple things, together.
“I’ll cook the stuff that I know we love,” Parton told People. “I pack it up in a picnic basket. And then we’ll go find some riverbank somewhere with our little camper, park, have a picnic. Or we’ll pull up to some little Days Inn motel, go in as long as the bed’s clean and there’s a bathroom. We just do our little things like that.”
In 2022, Parton announced she was done touring, so she could spend more time with Dean.
“I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband,” Parton told Pollstar. “We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time. Something could happen. I would not feel right about that, if I were gone and somebody needed me. Or I would feel bad if I had to leave a tour if somebody got sick at home and needed me and then I had to walk out on the fans.”
Funeral services for Dean will be private.