Just days after her husband Carl Dean’s death, Dolly Parton has released a song in tribute to her lost love.
In an early morning March 7 Instagram post, the 79-year-old country music icon announced the release of “If You Hadn’t Been There,” accompanied by a throwback photo of the couple looking every bit in love. Dean passed away in 2025 at the age of 82.
In addition to releasing a song in memory of her late husband, Parton penned a heartfelt message explaining to fans how strong their bond was in the caption.
“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,” Parton wrote. “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.”
Read a sample of the lyrics, below:
- “If you hadn’t been there where would I be?/ Without your trust love and belief/ The ups and downs we’ve always shared/ And I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t been there.”
- “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.”
Listen, below:
Dolly Parton’s late husband served as inspiration for one of the country music star’s biggest hits.
Carl Dean, who died March 3, caught the eye of a bank teller in the 1970s – leading Parton to write “Jolene.” The song begs another woman not to take her man and is really “an innocent” song, according to the country crooner.
“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” Parton told NPR in 2008.
“And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention,” the “Islands in the Stream” singer recalled. “It was kind of like a running joke between us when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.’ So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.”
Dolly Parton’s 1970s hit “Jolene” was inspired by her late husband, Carl Dean. (Getty Images)
However, the title of the song came from a different real-life experience for Parton.
“One night I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl,” the musician told NPR. “She was probably 8 years old at the time. And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, and beautiful green eyes. And she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph. And I said, ‘Well, you’re just the prettiest little thing I’ve ever seen.’ I said, ‘What is your name?’ And she said, ‘Jolene.’”
“And I said, well, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. I said, that is pretty, I said, that sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.”
Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, died Monday in Nashville. He was 82. (Dolly Parton Instagram)
“Jolene” became one of Parton’s first hit singles after being released in 1973. The song hit the top of Billboard’s country music chart and other artists have covered the song, including her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, and Beyoncé. Beyoncé’s “Jolene” cover, which was featured on her Grammy-winning “Cowboy Carter” album, broke the top 10 of the Billboard chart last April.
“It’s a great chord progression, people love that ‘Jolene’ lick,” Parton told NPR at the time. “It’s as much a part of the song almost as the song. And because it’s just the same word over and over, even a first-grader or a baby can sing, ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.’ It’s like, how hard can that be?”
Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean were married for 60 years. (Dolly Parton Instagram)
Parton announced Monday her 82-year-old husband had died in Nashville.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” she wrote in a statement shared to Instagram. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
Dean will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family in attendance.
Parton first met Dean at a laundromat when she was 18 and he was 21. They married in 1966. He was rarely seen by Parton’s side but always played a strong supporting role in his wife’s life.
Dolly Parton and Carl Dean married in 1966. (Jon Morgan/CBS via Getty Images)
