U2 has released "Torn," a duet with the late Dolly Parton that is the country legend's final recorded vocal. The song closes the band's album Carnaval de Luz, which arrived on November 13, 2026.
Parton recorded her vocals in June 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee, less than three months before she died of cancer on August 25 at age 80, according to Variety.
The collaboration began when Bono gave Parton a set of bagpipes as a birthday gift. She listened to his demos and offered a song she had started called "Torn," according to RNZ, citing a recent BBC interview with the frontman. Parton's original idea concerned a woman choosing between two men. U2 and Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol rewrote it into a song about a family divided by political differences.
In a June 2 note to Bono, Parton wrote: "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. I've always loved you and always will. Dolly."
Bono told the BBC that he did not know the recording would be Parton's last. "We knew she was ill, but we had no idea that it'd be her last vocal," he said. "That was a real shock." He learned of her death while sitting with R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe, who "fell down and started sobbing."
The official audio for the track is available on YouTube. "Torn" features Daniel Lanois on pedal steel. Two additional versions of the song were released alongside the album: one produced by Parton's longtime collaborator Kent Wells, and another by T Bone Burnett.
Pitchfork reports that an unheard Parton recording titled "My Place in History" remains sealed in a vault at Dollywood, scheduled to be opened on her 100th birthday in 2046.
Carnaval de Luz is U2's first studio album since 2017's Songs of Experience.