3 Loretta Lynn Songs That Will Make You Believe in the Magic of Country Storytelling

Hailing from Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, Loretta Lynn carved out an unprecedented legacy for women in country music. With 24 No. 1 singles under her belt and 11 No. 1 albums, Lynn proved that you could be both bold in your lyricism and successful on the charts. Here are some of her most iconic songs.

“Coal Miner’s Daughter”

“Coal Miner’s Daughter” is to Lynn as “Coat Of Many Colors” is to Dolly Parton. The song chronicles Lynn’s upbringing in Kentucky, where she grew up very poor. The lyrics talk about Lynn’s father and mother, who worked tirelessly to give her and her siblings a good life.

Well, I was born the coal miner’s daughter
In a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler
We were poor, but we had love
That’s the one thing that Daddy made sure of
He shoveled coal to make a poor man’s dollar.

“You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)”

This one was actually inspired by a conversation Loretta Lynn had with a woman backstage at one of her shows. Apparently, there was another woman who had tried to steal her husband from her. Lynn’s response to the woman’s plight was “Honey, she ain’t woman enough to take your man!” She wrote the rest of the song in her dressing room.

You’ve come to tell me somethin’ you say I ought to know
That he don’t love me anymore, and I’ll have to let him go
You say you’re gonna take him, oh, but I don’t think you can
Cause you ain’t woman enough to take my man.

“The Pill”

Loretta Lynn gets pretty blunt pretty quickly when it comes to talking about birth control in her song “The Pill”. The song is about a woman who wants more control over her body. Lynn gave birth to four of her six kids by the time she was 20. This song was banned by certain radio stations back in its day, but it also spread awareness about birth control.

There’s a-gonna be some changes made
Right here on nursery hill
You’ve set this chicken your last time
‘Cause now I’ve got the pill.

Photo by: CBS via Getty Images