Dolly Parton released a beautiful new song as a tribute to her late husband, Carl Dean, days after his death on Monday. Dean was 82.

“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,” Parton said in an Instagram post this week, alongside a photo of the two in their younger years.

“We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end,” she shared, adding that “they live on in memory and song.”

“He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him,” Parton said, revealing that the song is called “If You Hadn’t Been There.”

The song begins with, “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.”

Dean remained out of the spotlight for most of the two’s marriage, letting Parton’s fame and talent take center stage.

The two remained incredibly private about their relationship and never stepped out for events or awards shows together.

“A lot of people say there’s no Carl Dean, that he’s just somebody I made up to keep other people off me,” Parton quipped in an interview with The Associated Press in 1984.

The singer joked that it would be helpful if he posed with her for a magazine cover at least, “So that people could at least know that I’m not married to a wart or something.”

In a statement shared Monday just after Dean’s passing, Parton wrote that “words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years.”

She later followed up with another “love note” thanking family, friends and fans for “all the messages, cards, and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl.”

“I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know it has meant the world to me,” Parton added, before quoting a line from one of her most famous songs. “He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you.”