Coal Miner's Daughter (song)

"Coal Miner's Daughter"
Single by Loretta Lynn
from the album Coal Miner's Daughter
Released	May 10, 1970 (U.S.)
Format	7"
Recorded	October 1, 1969
Genre	Country
Length	3:02
Label	Decca Records 32900
Writer(s)	Loretta Lynn
Producer	Owen Bradley
Loretta Lynn singles chronology
"You Wanna Give Me a Gift" (1970) "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1970) "I Wanna Be Free" (1971)

"Coal Miner's Daughter" is an autobiographical 1969 country music song written, released and made famous by Loretta Lynn. Released in 1970, the song became Lynn's signature song, one of the genre's most widely-known songs, and provided the basis for both her autobiography and a movie on her life.

About the song

"Coal Miner's Daughter" tells the story of her life growing up "in a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler", while her father, Melvin "Ted" Webb, worked all night in the Van Lear coal mine. The song depicts the real story of Lynn's life growing up in rural Kentucky, and discusses how she and her seven siblings lived off of a coal miner's salary ("Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner's pay"), and that her father always made sure there was love in the Webb household.

Subsequent verses recall Lynn's other childhood experiences and hardships, such as her mother reading the Bible by a coal-oil light or having bloody fingers from constantly doing the laundry using an abrasive "warsh"board (this pronunciation was reflective of her Appalachian Kentucky roots)^[1], ordering shoes from a mail-order catalog, and working so hard every day that everyone slept because "they were tired."

In the song's final verse, the now-adult Lynn returns to her homestead, which has since been abandoned ("Not much left but the floor; nothing lives here anymore ..."). However, she remarks that the "memories of a coal miner's daughter" remain.

"Coal Miner's Daughter" was unlike anything Lynn had ever recorded previously. She had become known for her sassy back-talking songs, including "Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)" (an angry-wife's warning to a hard-drinking husband not to come home drunk and intent on making love) and "Fist City" (wherein a married woman threatens her husband's would-be temptress). However, fans quickly reacted to the song with praise and turned the song into one of country music's iconic hits.

Chart performance

Lynn recorded "Coal Miner's Daughter" in October 1969, but the song's release was delayed until mid-1970. The song slowly climbed the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart during the latter half of the year, and reached No. 1 on December 19 for a single week ^[2].

In addition to reaching No. 1 on the Country charts, "Coal Miner's Daughter" also became Lynn's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 83.

An album of the same name was also released in 1970, and despite the fact that the title track was the lone single, Coal Miner's Daughter became quite successful.

Chart (1970)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	83
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Legacy

"Coal Miner's Daughter" served as the name of Lynn's 1976 autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter: The Autobiography, which Lynn co-wrote. The song title also served as the name of Lynn's 1980 biographical motion picture on her life, Coal Miner's Daughter. The movie starred actress Sissy Spacek as Lynn and Tommy Lee Jones as Lynn's husband. The film's soundtrack featured Spacek singing all of Lynn's hits sung in the movie, including "Coal Miner's Daughter". Spacek won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Lynn in the film.

"Coal Miner's Daughter" helped provide a better understanding of Lynn, and led to the widespread fascination with her life story.

The song was listed at No. 185 on RIAA's list of Songs of the Century and was also listed in 2003's TV special at No. 13 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.

Cover versions

Few singers have released cover versions of Lynn's hit, as it is a biographical song about Lynn's life. However, there have been several karaoke sing-along versions made in the past ten years.

The most famous cover of the song is the version recorded by Sissy Spacek for the motion picture, which is also featured on the soundtrack.

Loretta Lynn recorded the song with guest vocals from Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow in 2010 for Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn. Additionally, this recording was released as a single in September 2010. This version of the song debuted and peaked at #55 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week dated December 4, 2010.

References

1. ^ Montgomery, Encyclopedia of Appalachia, 1004.
2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 209. 

Preceded by "Endlessly" by Sonny James	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single December 19, 1970	Succeeded by "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" by Lynn Anderson
Preceded by "Fifteen Years Ago" by Conway Twitty	RPM Country Tracks number-one single December 19, 1970	Succeeded by "Sweet Dreams of Yesterday" by Hank Smith