Bono Reflects on Dolly Parton’s Final Recording for New U2 Album

The collaboration, titled “Torn,” marks a poignant conclusion to the band’s latest project, arriving shortly after the country icon’s death at age 80 on August 25, 2026. Initially, Bono had approached Parton for a project centered on Irish folk music, but she redirected the effort, offering a song of her own and encouraging the frontman to reinterpret it. The resulting track, co-written with Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, explores the difficult narrative of a mother witnessing her family fracture.

Producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee noted that despite her failing health, Parton remained deeply committed to the work. She recorded her vocals in June, just months before her passing, following a period of seclusion at her Tennessee compound. For Bono, the experience of hearing the finished take remains difficult, as he noted that the performance defies the physical constraints of an 80-year-old singer who had spent her final year mourning the loss of her husband, Carl Dean.

“Carnaval de Luz,” the band's first new material since 2017, is scheduled for release on November 13. While “Torn” serves as a major centerpiece, it is not the only posthumous material surfacing; a cover of “Bound to Ride” was released in early September. Fans continue to look toward 2046, when a secret song Parton buried in a time capsule at her Dollywood resort is finally scheduled to be unveiled.