Dolly Parton Left Bed Rest for Final Song with U2, Bono Reveals

Dolly Parton rose from bed rest in June to record her final song, "Torn," for U2's upcoming album "Carnaval De Luz," according to U2 frontman Bono.

Parton, who passed away on Aug. 25 at the age of 80, completed the vocal performance for the track just two months before her death. "Carnaval De Luz" is scheduled for release on Nov. 19.

Bono, 66, told Rolling Stone that he finds it difficult to listen to Parton's contribution to the song since her passing. "When she got ill, she got out of her bed to sing this song," Bono shared. "And you can hear that. She sang her heart out, and I cannot believe that’s an 80-year-old woman."

He had initially hoped to collaborate with Parton on the entire album, but the country music legend deemed the project "a little too Irish" for her. "But," Bono recalled, "she said, 'I got this song. It's called ‘Torn,’ and do you wanna see where you can take it somewhere else, maybe?'"

Bono described the experience of working with Parton as "very moving," adding that "the fact that they’re not there now, in any way you can call back, other than through her songs, is very sobering."

Producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee confirmed that Parton listened to the final mix of "Torn" before her passing and "loved" it. "She was so proud of her vocal and the recording," Lee said. "She was thrilled with it. We were very nervous that she might not approve, or would be uncomfortable with it, but she loved it."

The song, co-written by Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, is described in a press release as "a tender country song detailing broken family ties that holds wider resonances."

This marks Parton's second posthumous release since her death; her cover of "Bound to Ride" was released earlier this month. In 2022, Parton revealed that she had placed a never-before-heard song in a vault at Dollywood Theme Park, set for release in 2045.