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Dolly Parton Drops a New Song to Celebrate Turning 77

The country music star released ‘Don’t Make Me Have to Come Down There’ on Jan. 19.

Ananya Panchal

Dolly Parton.

Dolly Parton.

Dolly Parton is the gift that keeps on giving. Even on her own 77th birthday, the country music star was in the mood to treat fans to a brand new song. She released “Don’t Make Me Have to Come Down There” on Jan. 19 to celebrate another year of life and broke the exciting news in an Instagram post.

“Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me! 🎶 Today, I decided I’m not gonna get, I’m gonna give,” she captioned the video. Parton mentioned that the idea for the song came to her in a dream.

In the clip, she wore a black turtleneck with metallic detailing, a chunky sparkly gold belt and dangly statement earrings.

“I felt like it was worth putting out there—something special was special to me,” the “Jolene” singer explained. “I had a dream about God standing on a mountain, looking down on us saying, ‘Don’t make me have to come down there.’ And then it woke me up. I got up. I started writing this song and over a period of weeks and months, I finished it as things would come to me. I just felt like I should drop it on my birthday. So I hope you enjoy it.”

Parton has a new album on the horizon. It’s unclear if her latest single will be on the upcoming Rock Star, which she revealed will feature Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Pink and Brandi Carlile.

“I really think it’s some of the best work I’ve ever done,” she said on the Today Show. “I think so. Only because it’s different for me. I wanted it to be good.” 

This will be Parton’s first album outside of the country genre and the decision to change things up came after she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, despite initially gracefully declining the invitation.

“I never thought of myself as a rock star,” she admitted. “I found out later that they give it to you if you’ve influenced other people. But I had said at the start I didn’t want to accept it because I didn’t think I’d earned it. I’m gonna go ahead and do a rock album and just make the most of it.”

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Ananya Panchal

ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a NYC-based Lifestyle & Trending News writer at SI Swimsuit. Before joining the Swim team, the Boston University Alum worked for culture & entertainment beats at Bustle, The San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When Ananya is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, she can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast.