Dolly Parton’s Final Recorded Vocals Featured on New U2 Track “Torn”

It looks like Dolly Parton left one more gift of song for the world. The late country icon will feature on U2’s newly announced album, Carnaval De Luz, dueting with Bono on the closing track “Torn.” A press release for the album says Parton’s contribution “sadly turned out to be her last recorded vocal performance.” According to Rolling Stone, Bono wanted to recruit Parton for an Irish folk music project. Instead, Parton presented him with “Torn,” “a tender country song detailing broken family ties….” U2 rewrote it with Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, and Daniel Lanois was brought in on pedal steel. “When she got ill, she got out of her bed to sing this song,” Bono revealed to RS. “And you can hear that. And I can’t even listen to it now.” Following Parton’s passing in August, U2 shared a drawing of the singer with what appeared to be a poem written over it and the caption, “Every heart is torn.” It now seems evident those words (below) are in fact lyrics to “Torn.” We’ll find out for sure when Carnaval De Luz releases on November 13th, 2026.