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Bono says he 'can’t even listen' to Dolly Parton’s final song on the new U2 album
Bono has revealed he is unable to listen to Dolly Parton’s final recording with U2, describing her performance on Torn as overwhelmingly emotional.
Bono has admitted he still cannot bring himself to listen to Dolly Parton’s final song, recorded with U2 just weeks before her death.
The country icon passed away in August following a private cancer battle, and it has now emerged she laid down vocals for a track titled Torn in June for the band’s upcoming album Carnaval De Luz.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Bono said Parton insisted on recording the song despite her illness. He explained: “When she got ill, she got out of her bed to sing this song. And you can hear that. And I can’t even listen to it now.”
The U2 frontman revealed he had originally discussed a separate folk‑inspired project with Parton, but she instead offered him Torn - a song she had written and wanted the band to explore.
He recalled: “She said: ‘That’s a little too Irish for me.’ But then she said: ‘I’ve got this song called Torn. Maybe you can take it somewhere else?’”
Bono described her performance as astonishing, adding: “She sang her heart out and I cannot believe that’s an 80‑year‑old woman.”
He said the experience of working so closely with her in her final months has stayed with him: “It’s very moving to have had these intimacies with such a figure. The fact that she’s not here now, except through her songs, is very sobering.”
Parton approved the final mix of Torn before her death. Producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee said she was “thrilled” with how the track turned out. He explained that the team had been nervous about whether she would feel comfortable with the finished version, but she “loved it” and was proud of her vocal.
Carnaval De Luz, U2’s 16th studio album, arrives November 13. In a statement announcing the record, Bono promised “loud guitars, deep bass” and “silver tears,” describing the project as a surreal, high‑energy journey through imagination, creativity and darkness.
