Dolly Parton‘s final recording before her death at 80 years old is about to be heard by fans, with Irish rock band U2 announcing that the emotional collaboration will appear on the band’s upcoming album. For Bono, however, the track carries a deeply personal weight. the U2 frontman opened up about the emotional song and what makes it difficult for him to hear.
U2 Celebrates 50 Years With ‘Carnaval De Luz’
It has been 50 years since U2 formed in Dublin, and to celebrate the milestone, the band is releasing a new album, “Carnaval de Luz.” The release marks U2’s first new material since 2017’s “Songs of Experience.”
On September 24, the band released the lead single, “Silencio.” Along with the announcement, the U2 also revealed that they collaborated with the late Dolly Parton on the closing track.
Initially, frontman Bono approached Parton for a separate project about Irish folk music, but the singer told him it was “a little too Irish” for her to take on. Instead, she offered her one of her songs and encouraged him to explore what could be done with it.
The result was the closing track on the album titled “Torn,” in which Bono duets with Parton. The singer told Rolling Stone it was recorded in June, just a few months before the country legend’s death on August 25, 2026.
Dolly Parton ‘Sang Her Heart Out’ In Her Final Recording
U2 collaborated with Johnny McDaid from Snow Patrol for the lyrics, with McDaid and Bono writing about a mother witnessing her family fracture.
Parton was on board with the direction and approved the song. Producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee said she was “so proud” of how it turned out and absolutely “loved it.”
“When she got ill, she got out of her bed to sing this song. And you can hear that. And I can’t even listen to it now,” Bono told the outelt, adding that The Queen of Country Music “sang her heart out.” “I cannot believe that’s an 80-year-old woman,” he said.
The Country Icon’s Final Public Appearance Was At Her Truck Stop
Parton’s husband of six decades, Carl Dean, died in March 2025. The singer took a break from her career to mourn the loss. She made select appearances in the months following, but toward the end of the year Parton postponed, and eventually canceled, her highly anticipated Las Vegas residency.
Parton also missed some scheduled events, prompting her fans to worry. She updated her fans, acknowledging that she had some health issues was overfatigued, but assured them that she was still working.
Her final public appearance was at the grand opening of her Tennesseee Travel Stop in late June, where she cut the ribbon and made a short speech. Two months later, it was announced that Parton died at 80 years old after a private battle with cancer.
“It’s very moving to have had these intimacies with such a figure. The fact that they’re not there now, in any way you can call back, other than through her songs, is very sobering,” Bono said of Parton.
The Singer’s First Posthumous Song Was Released 2 Weeks After Her Death
On September 9, the cover song “Bound to Ride,” sung by Dolly Parton and the First Ladies of Bluegrass, was released. Although the recording was made in 2022, it’s the first Parton track that came out following her death.
The song, popularized by The Stanley Brothers, will be included in the tribute album to the band titled “Where the Soul Never Dies: Celebrating 80 years of The Stanley Brothers,” which is scheduled for release on October 16.
“She really did over-deliver. We were shocked. We couldn’t have gotten anything better,” Garry West, who owns the label behind the album, said of Parton’s vocals.
Dolly Parton’s Secret Song Will Be Unveiled In 20 Years
Parton left a profound legacy, but she also left fans with a musical surprise. More than a decade ago, the singer buried a time capsule that contains a CD and cassette tape of a new song, “My Place in History,” at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
The Dream Box, as it is called, will remain sealed until the singer’s 100th birthday on January 19, 2046. In an interview with Kelly Clarkson in 2022, Parton said, “I want to go dig that up so bad because it’s a really good song.”
Parton’s song with U2 will be availble when the album arrives on November 13.
