The late Dolly Parton is set to posthumously feature on U2’s new song ‘Torn’, the final recorded vocal performance of her career.
The duet with Bono will close the Irish band’s forthcoming 16th album, ‘Carnaval De Luz’, which is due for release on November 13.
Parton died on August 25 at the age of 80, following what her representatives described as a “brief battle with cancer”. According to Rolling Stone, she recorded her vocals for ‘Torn’ in June, just two months before her death.
“When she got ill, she got out of her bed to sing this song,” Bono told the publication, adding that he now finds the recording difficult to listen to.
‘Torn’ was co-written by U2, Parton and Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid. Bono initially approached the country icon about contributing to a separate, as-yet-unreleased project inspired by Irish folk music, but Parton felt the material was too Irish for her and instead offered him a song of her own called ‘Torn’.
Bono and McDaid then reworked the lyrics around the perspective of a mother watching her family fracture, and Parton agreed to sing the new version. Bono said she gave the recording everything she had, while Daniel Lanois contributed pedal steel guitar.
Parton was also able to hear and approve the final mix before her death. ‘Carnaval De Luz’ producer Jacknife Lee told Rolling Stone that she was proud of her vocal and thrilled with the finished recording.
U2 had paid tribute to Parton shortly after her death, sharing a post on Instagram that teased at the song, writing: “Every heart is torn”.
The band had a longstanding friendship with Parton. In January, Bono surprised her on her 80th birthday by sending a bagpiper to perform for her, along with a birthday cake and a pint of Guinness.
Earlier this month, U2 were named MusiCares’ 2027 Persons Of The Year, following in Parton’s footsteps after she received the same honour in 2019. Bono himself was named MusiCares Person Of The Year in 2003.
Parton remained a prolific collaborator in the final years of her life. In 2025, she joined Sabrina Carpenter for a new version of ‘Please Please Please’, while her 2023 album ‘Rockstar’ featured a huge cast of guests.
Among them were Miley Cyrus on a new version of ‘Wrecking Ball’ and Stevie Nicks on ‘What Has Rock And Roll Ever Done For You’, which Nicks had originally written for Fleetwood Mac.
The record also featured Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Sting and dozens more. It went on to become the highest-charting album of Parton’s career, reaching Number Three on the Billboard 200.
In NME’s four-star review, Jordan Bassett described ‘Rockstar’ as “bursting with life and positivity as the woman who made it”.
‘Carnaval De Luz’, meanwhile, arrives during U2’s 50th anniversary year and marks their first full-length album of new material since 2017’s ‘Songs Of Experience’. The band shared its latest preview, ‘Silencio’, today (September 24).
