Miranda Lambert Reveals Pet Kangaroo Inspired Ella Langley's Hit Song 'Choosin’ Texas'

Miranda Lambert opened up about the totally incongruous story of how her hit "Choosin' Texas" with Ella Langley came about.

During a recent interview, the country music veteran explained that the lyrics had a little something to do with a cop and a pet kangaroo.

"I used to have a pet kangaroo, and Ella had heard that, so when we first met, she was like, 'I've been dying to ask you this whole time...'" Lambert explained in conversation with Rolling Stone.

At the time, the singer's kangaroo "got me out of a ticket, because this police officer was like, 'Oh ... you ran a stop sign.' Whatever I did, it's a backroad in Oklahoma," Lambert said. "And she was like, 'What's in your passenger seat?' I was like, 'That's my pet. Her name is Olivia.' Her name is Olivia Rootin' John, and so definitely, I think she got me out of a ticket."

"And so Ella was like, 'Is this story true?'" Lambert recalled. "And I was like, 'Yes, it is.' And so she was like, 'She's from Texas, I could tell.' And that's where the song was born, funny enough."

Lambert was asked about the kangaroo because Langley has already told this story publicly from her point of view.

"We were talking about her having a kangaroo at one point, and then she said she had Texas plates on when she got pulled over with the kangaroo in her car," the rising country star said on SiriusXM's "The Highway" recently. "And I said, 'Well, the cop was probably like, 'She's from Texas, I can tell.' And literally that's how we got that title."

"Choosin' Texas" has been inescapable all summer, even outside of country music circles, with a record-breaking 24 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

While Langley’s name is on the track, Lambert famously co-wrote and co-produced the song and also appeared in its music video.

But despite the song’s massive success, the collaboration wasn’t always smooth sailing, and the two women clashed during the creative process.

"There [were] hard parts of it. Creating a record is not — I mean, it's a long journey, you know what I mean? And it's a lot of emotions," Lambert said on the New York Times' "Popcast."

They "butted heads," but Lambert obviously let Langley have her way in some instances.

"Yeah. I mean … it's her name," she said. "But, yeah, it was a good balance, I felt like, of bouncing songs off each other, saying like, 'That's too far one way,' or 'That doesn't fit the record,' whatever it was. And I love that she trusted me with that. I really do."