Dolly Parton opens up about inspiration behind new Christmas movie soundtrack

Dolly Parton has opened up about the inspiration behind one of the songs in her TV special Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas.

The hugely-celebrated country star's musical holiday special, Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas, was broadcast on NBC earlier this month and featured Jimmy Fallon, Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus and Willie Nelson as guest stars.

Talking about her philanthropic endeavours in a chat with British Vogue, Dolly, 76, touched upon the inspiration behind one of the tunes that feature in the TV movie.

"I grew up in a very open-hearted, faith-based family," she shared. "You're taught to love and be accepting, and to give more than you receive. Both sides of my family are funny, tender-hearted, good people. Whether you believe in God or not, you need to be grounded; you need to believe in something greater than yourself. We grew up thinking that other people are just as important as we are. I wrote a song that's going to be in my Christmas movie special in December. And it goes, Whoever you are, be that. Whatever you do, do that. Anything else is just an act.'"

Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas follows Parton's desire to uplift an exhausted world's spirits by sharing the unique "mountain magic" she has always found in and around her Dollywood theme park at Christmas.