How U2 recruited Dolly Parton for posthumous duet Torn

When Bono recruited Dolly Parton for a duet on U2's new album, he did not realise it would be the late, great country icon's final recording.

Released today, Torn is a tender country song and closing track on Carnaval De Luz, U2's 16th studio album and first full-length since 2023.

"I love them both, and I just feel so torn," sings Parton, who co-wrote the track and recorded her vocal in Nashville, Tennessee, in June this year, less than three months before her death.

"We knew she was ill, but we had no idea that it'd be her last vocal," Bono said in a recent BBC interview.

The frontman explained the collaboration began when he bought Parton a set of bagpipes as a birthday gift and she agreed to listen to Bono's demo recordings.

"There was one called Lifelong, and I remember [Dolly] saying, 'You know, that's a little too Irish for me. [But] I've started a song called Torn. You can take it where you want, and I might like where you take it.' And she did."

Parton's original treatment concerned a woman trying to choose between two men, but U2 rewrote the song, with help from Jonny McDaid (of fellow Irish band Snow Patrol), into a family divided by political differences.

"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," Parton wrote in a June 2 note addressed to Bono.

"Thanks for including me in your life. I've always loved you and always will. Dolly"

The track closes U2's new album, and there are two more versions of Torn released today.

Kent Wells, Parton's long-time producer, band leader and Grammy- and Oscar-winning collaborator, has produced a rendition underscoring the country instrumentation and weepy pedal steel.

Acclaimed musician and award-winning film music producer "T Bone" Burnett has also done a treatment of the track.

Parton died on August 25, 2026, aged 80, after a brief battle with cancer.

Bono shared with the BBC that he was with R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe when he learned of the beloved American music legend's passing.

"He actually fell down and started sobbing. He just could not believe it," he said.

"Probably the only thing that people can agree on in the entire world right now is Dolly Parton. Whether you're gay or straight or conservative or liberal, she was ready for you to fly at her show."