The Irish rock band and the late country music star worked together on the track, which appears on U2’s latest album, Carnaval De Luz.
asserted
which → work → album
It also became Parton’s last ever recording, with the singer dying in August at the age of 80 following a “brief battle with cancer”.
asserted
singer → become → cancer
He said: “We were looking for something to unify our album because it would be nice if when the characters in our album could deal with what’s going on in the outside world.
uncertain
what → say → world
It’s a really fractious time that we live in where everyone’s got a point of view and, you know, you’re the enemy if you don’t agree with them.
asserted
you → ’ → them
She’s the penicillin for that, isn’t she?
asserted
she → ’ → that
She’s the antidote to all that.
asserted
She → ’ → that
“But we didn’t know it would work.
asserted
it → know → ?
And Dolly has started a song called Torn.
asserted
Dolly → start → song
And she said, ‘look, you can take it whatever way you want, you know, and I might like where you take it’.
uncertain
you → say → it
And we took it quite a ways away from where she started.
asserted
she → take → it
So, when we sent it back, it was very different.
asserted
it → send → it
Guitarist The Edge, real name David Howell Evans, added: “Basically she said, your songs are too Irish for me.
asserted
songs → add → me
Bono then explained that the folk album they were making “didn’t hit her voice”, which he suspected might have made her want to make changes to the track – which is about two brothers who do not talk.
uncertain
who → explain → brothers
“Or she was just being really smart and getting us to finish off one of her old songs.
asserted
us → get → songs
Whatever way I’ll take it.
asserted
I → take → it
And this is one of the greatest songwriters who ever lived.
asserted
who → live → songwriters
So that’s how it started,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
Bono previously told Rolling Stone that he almost found the track – which Parton recorded two months before her death – too difficult to listen to.
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Parton → tell → death
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“When she got ill, she got out of her bed to sing this song.
asserted
she → read → song
And you can hear that.
asserted
you → hear → that
And I can’t even listen to it now,” he said.
asserted
he → listen → it
“She sang her heart out and I cannot believe that’s an 80-year-old woman.
asserted
that → sing → heart
“It’s very moving to have had these intimacies with such a figure.
asserted
It → ’ → figure
The fact that they’re not there now, in any way you can call back, other than through her songs, is very sobering.”
asserted
you → ’re → songs
The group previously announced their Greatest Show On Earth tour, which will kick off with a series of concerts in Latin and South America in February 2027 before the European leg begins in April.
asserted
leg → announce → April
Asked about curating a setlist with the new album and the band’s back catalogue, The Edge said on Track Of My Years: “When it comes time to put the show together, it’ll be a trial and error thing, but we absolutely will be playing the classics as well.
asserted
we → ask → classics
It’s not going to be two-thirds new work, it’ll be probably more old than new, I would imagine.”
asserted
I → go → ?
While he added his relationship with their back catalogue was “uncomfortable”, Bono said they were “still finishing them in their own head”, and bass guitarist Adam Clayton added: “I feel like we’re starting to discover that they mean different things at different stages in your own life.
asserted
they → add → life
“So they mean different things to you.
asserted
they → mean → you
I’ve heard people say, ‘oh, I can’t stand that song.
asserted
I → hear → song
I don’t want to perform that song ever live.’
asserted
I → want → song
I don’t feel that about our material or our songs.
asserted
I → feel → material
I think the audience sort of owns them 85% and maybe we own 25% of them at this stage.
asserted
we → think → stage
Carnaval De Luz, which was released on Friday, is the band’s first album of new material in nine years and features 12 tracks.
asserted
which → release → tracks
Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 are known for combining their rock music with political activism, human rights advocacy and social commentary.
asserted
U2 → form → activism
The line-up also includes drummer Larry Mullen Jr.
asserted
up → include → Jr.
They have achieved 22 Grammy Awards, eight Brits and two Golden Globes across their five-decade career, along with seven UK number one singles and 11 number one albums.
asserted
They → achieve → singles
The Aporia
