Dolly Parton’s final recorded vocal performance has arrived on “Torn,” a new collaboration with U2 that closes the band’s new album, Carnaval De Luz.
Parton recorded her contribution in Nashville in June, just months before her death. Ahead of the release, her estate and U2 shared a handwritten note she sent Bono after finishing her vocals.
“Hey 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,” she continued. “I’ve always loved you and always will.”
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“Torn,” co-written by U2, Parton, and Johnny McDaid, pairs Bono with Parton for a duet about fractured family ties, with Daniel Lanois adding pedal steel. [add how the songs actually sounds here] A separate country mix, produced by longtime Parton collaborator Kent Wells, also premiered ahead of the album’s release.
U2 previously revealed that Parton recorded the song while ill. Bono told Rolling Stone she “got out of her bed to sing this song,” adding that hearing the finished recording became difficult for him after her death. Parton’s appearance on “Torn” now stands as the final recorded vocal performance of her career.
Listen to “Torn” and seeParton’s handwritten message to Bono below.