Dolly Parton is remembering her husband in a way that is pure Dolly.
Days after the death of her husband of nearly six decades, Carl Dean, Parton revealed her new song “If You Hadn’t Been There,” announcing it on Instagram, with a photo of the couple.
She wrote, “Carl and I fell in love when I was 18 and he was 23, and like all great love stories, they never end.”
“They live in memory and in song, and I dedicate this to him.”
Dean died on March 3 at the age of 82.
The lyrics talk about the “ups and downs” of their relationship and how he supported her through her long career, E! News reported.
“If you hadn’t been there / Where would I be?/ Without your trust /Love and believe,” the song starts.
She tells him in the song, “Showing you care / You made me dream /More than I dared / And I wouldn’t be here / If you hadn’t been there.”
You can listen to the song here, or below:
The couple met at a Nashville laundromat and married in Georgia in 1966.
While Parton was in the center of the spotlight, Dean was rarely seen. Still, he supported her every step of her career in his own way.
She told E! News last year, “It is important to have someone there in your corner and you know they’ll love you for just who you are. There’s a great comfort in knowing that someone loves you exactly for who you are—because he fell in love with me before I became a star.”
They were private in how they shared their love and time with each other, she told E! News.
“We just enjoy each other. One of the things that we like to do—not necessarily a date night, we have a lot of date days—we have our little RV and we like to travel around. Going down and get some food, or I’ll make a picnic and we go down to the river."
She wrote several songs in honor of her husband during her long career including “Jolene,” “Just Because I’m a Woman,” “Tomorrow Is Forever,” “Say Forever You’ll Be Mine,” “From Here to the Moon and Back” and “Forever Love,” US Weekly reported. She also said she released her rock album “Rockstar” was dedicated to Dean and included songs he loved, ABC News reported.
Parton announced Dean’s passing on Tuesday writing on Instagram “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
She followed that post with another, which read, “This is a love note to family, friends, and fans. 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,” signing the post simply, “Dolly.”
Parton said her husband would be laid to rest in a private ceremony with only his immediate family members attending.
In addition to the iconic country music singer, he is survived by two siblings.
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