Dolly Parton has shared a new song, “If You Hadn’t Been There,” a tribute to her late husband, Carl Dean, who died earlier this week at the age of 82.
Parton revealed and released the emotional tune on Friday, March 7, writing on Instagram, “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.” The cover art features a photo of Parton and Dean from their younger days.
As for the song, it begins as a tender piano ballad before steadily building to a moving, orchestral apex. Driving it all, as always, is Parton’s voice, as she belts, “You made me climb/And top the stairs/I wouldn’t be here/I wouldn’t be here/If you hadn’t been there.”
Hours before she released the song, Parton shared a note thanking fans for their support following Dean’s death. “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,” Parton wrote. “I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know 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 announced her husband’s death on Monday, though did not provide a cause of death. Dean will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family.
Parton and Dean met in 1964, the day Parton moved to Nashville to pursue a music career, and remained together for over 60 years (they officially married two years later in 1966). Throughout it all, Dean rarely followed his superstar wife into the spotlight, choosing instead to focus on running his own asphalt-paving business.
