{"id":7722,"date":"2026-08-30T22:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T22:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7722"},"modified":"2026-08-30T22:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T22:39:10","slug":"how-the-song-dolly-parton-chose-for-her-funeral-reflects-her-ability-to-transcend-race-region-and-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7722","title":{"rendered":"How the song Dolly Parton chose for her funeral reflects her ability to transcend race, region and religion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Dolly Parton never forgot her humble Smoky Mountain origins. So no one should be surprised that she did not choose one of her own songs to be played at her funeral. Instead, she\u2019s picked \u201cIf We Never Meet Again (This Side of Heaven),\u201d a classic gospel song that\u2019s been recorded by a range of other country greats, including Jerry Lee Lewis, the Chuck Wagon Gang and the Brown\u2019s Ferry Four.<\/p>\n

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Dolly undoubtedly just loved this moving song. The lyrics \u2014 \u201cif we never meet again, this side of heaven, I\u2019ll meet you on that beautiful shore\u201d \u2014 no doubt reminded her of her late husband and parents. But her choice also reflects the role Dolly came to play as a unifying figure in a time of American cultural polarization.<\/p>\n

The hymn she chose, and many others by its composer, have crossed the same cultural boundaries of race and region that Dolly herself learned to transcend as she went from backwoods to Broadway.<\/p>\n

Albert Brumley, the composer of \u201cIf We Never Meet Again,\u201d was born in Oklahoma\u2019s Choctaw Nation area yet became a widely known composer of so-called white gospel music. Some of his best-loved hymns include \u201cI\u2019ll Meet You in the Morning,\u201d \u201cTurn Your Radio On\u201d and \u201cRank Strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the popularity of his hymns crossed racial boundaries. His classic \u201cI\u2019ll Fly Away\u201d quickly became a staple of black gospel groups, including the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the Pilgrim Jubilees and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. It was recorded as a duet by none other than Aretha Franklin and Jesse Jackson. Brumley\u2019s lyrics, from 1929, became a civil-rights anthem, demonstrating the unifying power of music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the shadows of this life have gone away, I\u2019ll fly away, like a bird from prison bars has flown, I\u2019ll fly away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hymn Dolly chose for her memorial service has even been recorded by the All for Christ Singers, a group that melds American gospel hymns with the indigenous music of Zimbabwe. One can only wonder what Brumley, who learned his craft at a little school for musicians in small-town Arkansas, would make of that. Dolly would likely cheer and shout amen<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, Dolly herself sang \u201cI\u2019ll Fly Away\u201d in concert. Her performances raised a crowd to its feet and got them shouting hallelujahs. That\u2019s thanks to Dolly\u2019s own unifying power. Her music was embraced by Americans of every stripe. Whitney Houston, a daughter of the black church, recorded unforgettable renditions of Dolly\u2019s \u201cI Will Always Love You.\u201d When Houston won her 1994 Grammy for covering the song, it was Dolly who presented it to her.<\/p>\n

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The funeral songs chosen by other iconic Americans tell their own great stories. Martin Luther King Jr. chose Thomas Dorsey\u2019s \u201cTake My Hand, Precious Lord,\u201d another spiritual that transcended race thanks to memorable recordings by Mahalia Jackson and Elvis Presley. Aretha Franklin was on the mic for the King\u2019s funeral. <\/p>\n

And at the Queen of Soul\u2019s own funeral, Gladys Knight sang Paul Simon\u2019s \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water,\u201d itself inspired by a version of \u201cOh Mary, Don\u2019t You Weep,\u201d by one of America\u2019s great black gospel quartets, the Swan Silvertones.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Dolly\u2019s choice is thus another chapter in the broader story of what makes American music great: The cross-pollination of art from a hodgepodge of peoples. (Don\u2019t call it cultural appropriation!) Few artists succeed in embodying the full range of American music as did Dolly. She\u2019s up there with Ray Charles, who channeled black gospel music into the pop charts with such tunes as \u201cI\u2019ve Got a Woman.\u201d <\/p>\n

Charles also adapted one of his favorite genres, country music, for his own voice and style, as in \u201cI Can\u2019t Stop Loving You,\u201d written by Tennessean Don Gibson. His gospel-tinged version of \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d \u2014 composed by New England\u2019s Katharine Lee Bates \u2014 might as well be the definitive rendition. It\u2019s not surprising that his unifying music was embraced by Dolly\u2019s Grand Ole Opry.<\/p>\n

The story of how America divided itself has become familiar and dispiriting \u2014 how we\u2019ve split into cultural tranches that lack shared experiences and common understanding. The outpouring of adulation for Dolly Parton shows that we retain the capacity to come together when someone actually tries to bring us together. Dolly tried that very thing \u2014 and succeeded. <\/p>\n

Howard Husock is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of \u201cThe Projects: A New History of Public Housing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Dolly Parton’s chose “If We Never Meet Again” to be played at her funeral. 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