Dolly Parton’s Final Single Is a Fitting Tribute to Her Extraordinary Life

In January of 2026, Dolly Parton released a new version of “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning“. The song, written by Parton, was first released as a single in 1977 as part of her New Harvest…First Gathering record. 49 years later, Parton released a new version of the same song, this one with Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, and Reba McEntire.

The chorus says, “‘Cause I can see the light of a clear blue morning / I can see the light of a brand new day / I can see the light of a clear blue morning / And everything’s gonna be all right / It’s gonna be okay.”

“I wrote ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning’ during a season when I was searching for hope,” Parton said when announcing the new version. “And 50 years later, that message still feels just as true. As I celebrate my 80th birthday, this new version is my way of using what I’ve been blessed with to shine a little light forward, especially by sharing it with some truly incredible women.”

What Inspired Dolly Parton to Write “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning”

Parton later reveals that it was her mix of emotions about her split from Porter Wagoner that led to her writing “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning”. In her 1994 autobiography, Dolly: My Life And Other Unfinished Business, Parton recalls when the song began.

 “It began to rain. So did I,” Parton writes. “I cried, not so much out of a sense of loss, but from the pain that almost always comes with change. It was a sad kind of freedom.”

In the midst of her sadness, Parton began to sing what became the chorus of “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning”.

 “I swear to you on my life, the sky cleared up, it stopped raining, the sun came out, and before I got home, I had written the song ‘Light Of A Clear Blue Morning’,” Parton recounts. “It was my song of deliverance. It was my song of freedom.”

According to Parton, her rich legacy of songs, including “I Will Always Love You”, written about Wagoner, would have never happened if she had stayed with him.

“I can’t speak for Porter,” Parton says in the book. “But I truly believe I have become a wiser and better person for the growth I accomplished during those difficult years.”

In true Parton fashion, she donated all of the proceeds from the star-studded song to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, to go towards cancer research. On August 25, 2026, Parton passed away at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, following her own brief cancer battle.

Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images

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