‘MASTERCLASS’

Dolly Parton’s Haunting Final Vocal Performance Revealed

The legendary singer recorded the song just months before her death.

Music legend Dolly Parton has left behind a final performance for her adoring fans.

The beloved country singer collaborated with U2 on the band’s new song “Torn,” part of their 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz.

Good Morning America played an exclusive clip of the song, set for release on Friday, Nov. 13, in which the haunting lyrics can be heard. Parton’s song on the album is about a mother watching her family split up. U2’s Carnaval De Luz explores “themes of spirituality, friendship, freedom and endurance in the face of dark, encroaching forces.”

“I can’t deny this passion and desire / But I know it has to burn me / Standing this close to the fire / What am I supposed to do? / And how am I supposed to choose? / I love ‘em both and I just feel so torn / I love ‘em both and I just feel so torn,” the lyrics read.

The song was co-written by U2, Parton and Johnny McDaid, according to a press release. Bono revealed that he and Snow Patrol’s McDaid reworked the lyrics to appeal to Parton.

Parton recorded the song in Nashville, Tennessee, in June. The Queen of Country died two months later, on August 25. She was 80.

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In a new interview with Virgin Radio U.K., U2 icons Bono and Adam Clayton shed light on their collaboration with Parton.

The U2 lead vocalist, 66, called Parton’s final performance “a masterclass... if you forget what an extraordinary singer she is.”

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Bono also said Parton wrote him a note, dated June 2. “Hey Bono, 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,” she wrote. Parton signed off with a nod to her own hit single, “I’ve always loved you and I always will.”

Parton’s social media page shared the letter on Nov. 11, teasing the song.

Clayton, 66, said, “It is an amazing performance, and of course it transpired that it was her last vocal performance. And of course she was involved in the songwriting. She was involved in the direction. It was her song originally. So it’s quite a closing statement from her to make.”

Parton reportedly kept her illness—an undisclosed form of cancer—discreet, not informing the public or even those closer in her orbit. “We knew she was ill. And I just didn’t know that she was so sick,” Bono said.

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He also told Rolling Stone that Parton “got out of her bed to sing this song.”

“And you can hear that,” he said. “And I can’t even listen to it now.”

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Meera NavlakhaEntertainment Reporter

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