She’s the undisputed queen of country music and was an industry matriarch. The late Loretta Lynn left a huge mark on the country music genre with her incredible voice, candid lyrics, and anthemic tracks that are still beloved today. Let’s take a look at three of Loretta Lynn’s many, many iconic songs and break down how they defined a generation.
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1. “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
“Coal Miner’s Daughter” is one of the most well-known country releases of all time (arguably). It’s also one of Loretta Lynn’s most popular songs. The song tells the story of Lynn’s humble beginnings as a young girl growing up in Kentucky farmland. It’s an honest, vivid depiction of a woman’s life in the coal mining community, and many resonated with the childhood hardships and simple joys she depicted in the song.
2. “You Ain’t Woman Enough”
“You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)” is another well-known song from Lynn. It was one of the bolder tracks from a female songwriter at the time that asserted Lynn’s strength in the face of romantic betrayal. The lyrics are defiant, the melody is memorable, and the song became an anthem of sorts for women everywhere in the late 1960s.
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3. “The Pill”
“The Pill” is one of Lynn’s most controversial songs, especially when it was initially released in 1975. It’s a track about the still very taboo subject of birth control. Lynn delivered the song with unflinching honesty and relatability. Many were outraged when it was released, while others admired Lynn for her strength in the face of adversity at the time. But Lynn had never been one to not speak her mind. And “The Pill” is just one of many examples of her headstrong and honest personality.
Photo by Michael Ochs
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