Karl Stefanovic and Dolly Parton reunite for duet

The last time American legend Dolly Parton and Karl Stefanovic sang together she called him "Tarzan". Now, nine years on, the singer feels differently, warning the Today host he was going to "ruin" her career.

The pair performed Islands In The Stream together back in 2011, and keen singer Stefanovic was eager to revisit their musical success when they reunited for an interview.

Parton, who appeared on Today to talk about her new book Songteller, was happy to oblige at the start.

READ MORE: Karl Stefanovic's funniest moments on the 'TODAY' show

However, when Stefanovic got a bit too into it, the Tennessee native quickly pulled the plug.

"I think you're going to ruin your show, and ruin my career," Parton said, laughing.

"I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. No."

Not bothered by the criticism, Stefanovic pressed on, asking Parton how she manages to write songs that resonate around the world.

"I can relate to people because I grew up with a big family, poor people," Parton replied.

"All the people around us were poor, we were just people with a lot of faith, not much of anything else really, except each other.

"I really think that people are tested by that all around the world because they relate to that."

The 74-year-old said she refused to let poverty define her growing up.

"I used it for my strength because I knew all the things that were hard," she said. "I know some of everything. I have been some of everybody. But I used that to my advantage.

"I know people kind of get tired of me telling my story about from humble beginnings, the Cinderella story, but that's my story."

Parton urged others to "rise above" past trauma and do things "with purpose".

"I think a lot of people do let hurt and pain and bad times define them. We can rise above it," she said.

"People get so influenced by so many other people, so many things, so many causes, and they don't really know who they are.

"You've got to find out who you are and do it on purpose and you do it with purpose. Once you know who that is, then you're able to do so many things, but you always still got to be able to know who you are.

Join the Today show family and give yourself the chance to win great prizes by signing up to our weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday with a special message from Karl and Ally. You can sign up for free here.