Watch Loretta Lynn Perform "Coal Miner's Daughter" on The Johnny Cash Show in 1971
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The most surefire way to a better day isn't pie nor cookies, Sweet Magnolias nor sweet tea, it's Loretta Lynn. More specifically, playing her ever-soothing 1970 country music smash hit, "Coal Miner's Daughter."
Just play that timeless first verse, and we're teleported to a calmer state of mind: "Well, I was borned a 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." Call it a 50-year earworm, call it a stroke of genius, whatever you call it, it's clear that these simple yet touching lyrics are some of the best around.
That's why we were excited when we stumbled upon this 1971 performance of Lynn's chart-topping single from The Johnny Cash Show, from our friends over at country music lifestyle website, WhiskeyRiff.com. Backed by a full band and sporting a gorgeous periwinkle frock, Lynn spins her autobiographic yarn with equal parts down-home warmth and virtuoso talent. Watch the full performance below and prepare to be blown away.
Recently, we chatted with the Kentucky native and country great for our podcast, "Biscuits & Jam." In our interview, she reflected on her songwriting process, and how she relies on her own life experience so often when crafting a tune: "When it comes to writing a song, I write about me a lot. For Coal Miner's Daughter, I sat down on the back porch of the old home and just looked up the hill and started....Well, I was born a coal miner's daughter... and I wrote the song. It's like writing a poem," she told Southern Living editor-in-chief, Sid Evans.
Well, "Coal Miner's Daughter" sits with us like chicken soup for our Southern souls right about now. Just one more listen.
