♪ Big dreams and faded jeans ♪ ♪ Fit together like a team ♪ - We didn't know we was gonna do an album but before you know it, we had an album and we had a book.

(typewriter dings) (typewriter clicks) (upbeat country music) - I was a fan of his.

And I thought, "I don't know why he's asking me to write a book with him.

"He certainly doesn't need me."

We would just, really, just exchange our ideas.

And I started writing songs that I thought would really add to what we were doing.

I would send him the lyrics for him.

And then he'd incorporate some of my thoughts and ideas.

We didn't know we was gonna do an album, but before you knew it, we had an album and we had a book.

(upbeat country music continues) - [James] We're both storytellers.

I mean, Dolly has written thousands of songs.

And every one of those songs is, just about every one, is a story.

And I've written a lot of stories and and, really, country music, as opposed to almost any other music form, is really dependent on story.

(upbeat country music flourish) - I was wondering, Dolly, if we could ask you to sing a few lyrics.

- Oh, well I sorta said, "Don't ask me to read a book.

"I don't have my reading glasses."

Oh, but... Big dreams are... ♪ Big dreams and faded jeans ♪ ♪ Fit together like a team ♪ ♪ Open up and take... ♪ I can't see that, either.

- Oh, you can't?

- No.

(laughs) ♪ Woman up and take it like a man ♪ ♪ Be as good as a better than ♪ ♪ Woman up and take it like a man.

♪ And it's really all about, like, doing whatever, you know you can do.

You're gonna, don't just gripe about it.

Get out there and just do it.

♪ Big dreams and faded jeans ♪ There's a whole lot of good songs in there that run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, Rose, run.

- A complicated lyric.

♪ When you find yourself in a mess of trouble ♪ ♪ Trapped amongst the trash and rubble ♪ ♪ Looking for relief, but getting none ♪ - That's all I can... ♪ Run, Rose, run ♪ - But it's all about, "Just get on out."

'Cause nothing's gonna happen if you, you know.

Just find your opportunity and run.

And then we know this one you can say, "Run, run, run, run, run, run, run Run, run, run, run.

- See why she didn't let me sing.

- Oh, Lord, we just killed the sales of our book.

There's about, what, 12 songs on this whole album.

And they're all to do, like he said, with situations and, like, the driven, you know just driven to be better, you know, driven to, you know to just do, you know, do better every day, which is one of mine.

"Dark Night, Bright Future."

You know, it's just like- - "Big Dreams" is Ruth Anna's first big hit.

- Yeah.

But yeah, they're all, they're all tagged or something.

- And the combination is unprecedented.

The album and the book.

- [Amy] I would agree.

I've read it.

I really, it was super fun, you know, definitely thriller but there's a little bit of romance in there.

So I, I think as readers come to the book...

I was curious, Dolly, if you see yourself in Annie Lee or Ruth Anna or if there are any other characters that you guys wanna tell us a little about.

- Well, I see my myself in all the main characters.

I see myself for sure in Annie Lee, in my early days young girl in the business, trying to make it not knowing if I would or not.

And being kind of stubborn and not just taking, you know, "no" for an answer when I'd get told "no," I'd start again, go somewhere else.

And certainly I relate to the Ruth Anna character.

There's one big difference in us, though.

She retired and I never hope to retire.

And so...

But I also even relate to the Ethan character because of my brothers that sing and write.

And the young, or the people that were younger then like the Merle Haggards and the George Joneses.

All the great people.

The Porter Wagoners.

People I knew when I first came to Nashville, grew up with.

- All of the songs come out of these two characters' stories and to listen to the album, having, you know written and read the book over many times.

It's, it's incredible.

It's, I've never had an experience like that with the book.

Similarly, if you start with the music and then you go and read the book, you'll see where all the, all the music came.

So it's, it really is unique.

It's it's like a soundtrack for, for, for a novel.

- [Dolly] It took on a life of its own, didn't it?

- [James] Yeah.

- We were just gonna write a book and now we're doing everything.

We've got a album.

We're gonna do a movie.

And we're having lots of fun.

(upbeat country music)