“Coal Miner’s Daughter” – Single by Loretta Lynn from the album Coal Miner’s Daughter
B-side “The Man of the House”
Released October 5, 1970
Label Decca
Songwriter Loretta Lynn
Producer Owen Bradley
Charted No.1 in US (Billboard Hot Country Songs)
Loretta Lynn really was born a coal miner’s daughter on April 14, 1932, and this autobiographical song reflects the hardships of growing up in rural Kentucky, where there was little money but a lot of love. Far from a lament, Lynn wears this song like a badge of honor and sings about how proud she is of her background.
The music and lyrics of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” had been written entirely by Loretta Lynn. She composed the song in 1969, a year before its official recording. While writing the lyrics, Lynn composed the melody at the same time. The melody had originally been written in a bluegrass style, which matched the style of music she was raised singing. According to Lynn, she had trouble rhyming some of the song’s words. “I had to match up words like “holler” and “daughter” and “water.” But after it was done, the rhymes weren’t so important,” Lynn wrote in her 1976 autobiography.
Lynn spent several hours writing the remainder of the song. When it was completed, a total of nine verses were composed.
“Coal Miner’s Daughter” has not only been considered one of Loretta Lynn’s most significant songs, but has also been considered one of music’s most significant recordings. In 1998, Loretta’s 1970 version of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2001, the Recording Industry Association of America named it as one of their Songs of the Century. The song has also been ranked by other music agencies, including Rolling Stone, who ranked it on their list of the “100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time” at No. 42, and their list of the “Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” at No. 255. Country Music Television ranked the song on a similar list titled the “100 Greatest Songs of Country Music.” In 2009, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was added by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry.
Kacey Musgraves performed this song in tribute to Lynn at the Grammy Awards in 2023. Lynn died five months earlier at 90.
