Dolly Parton’s final recorded vocal performance arrived on Friday as a duet with Bono on the closing track of U2’s 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz.
Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, in June, the track titled “Torn” captures the late country icon singing about a fractured family just two months before her death at age 80 on August 25, 2026, following a brief battle with cancer.
Recording the Final Duet
Bono said the collaboration began when he approached Parton about other material. She demurred on a song called “Lifelong” by telling him, “That’s a little too Irish for me,” as Deadline reported.
Parton countered with her own composition, “Torn.” She had originally written it about a woman torn between two lovers. U2, with help from Johnny McDaid, rewrote the lyrics to focus on a family divided by political differences. They introduced lines such as, “Nothing hurts a mother more than a family at war,” according to Rolling Stone.
On June 2, Parton sent Bono a note via social media reading, “Hey Bono, Hope you like what I did. I did quite a few things. Take from it what you want and what you need, but I love the song, and I think it could be something really special. Thanks for including me in your life,” as ABC News reported.
The song was produced by Jacknife Lee. It features Daniel Lanois playing pedal steel, with additional contributions from The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr.
Releases and Variations
Island Records released Carnaval De Luz on Friday, according to Billboard.
Alongside the album’s mix, a traditional country rendition titled the “Kent Wells Version” received an all-day radio premiere across iHeart, Cumulus, Audacy, Beasley, Summit, Townsquare, and SiriusXM channels. Big Machine Records serviced the track, as Deadline said. A treatment by T Bone Burnett also accompanies the release on Friday.