"Coal Miner's Daughter" ~ My Tribute to Loretta Lynn

" Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Jesus
Matthew 5:4

My earliest memory of Loretta Lynn was when I was somewhere around four years old. My Daddy was working as a "jack-of-all-trades" maintenance man for a place called Huber Management, and somehow, one of the perks of his job was for us to get to live in an old, white two-story farmhouse at the end of a long lane in Englewood, Ohio. I can still see the outbuilding out back where I would play church with my dolls and stuffed animals, and the barn where my nephew, Brian, who was just 14 months younger than me, got paint in his eye. Lots and lots of memories in that place, but one that came to mind today stands out above the rest.

Bluegrass and country music was a huge part of my upbringing, and Loretta Lynn's music was a part of Mom and Dad's extensive record collection.

Photo Source

One day, while living in that farmhouse, I got a hold of the above Loretta Lynn record, took it upstairs to a little room off the hall where I kept my little record player, and I played that record for all it was worth. I feel sure I was singing along to the top of my lungs. At some point, something else must have caught my attention, because I left without turning off the record player. It had one of those features where it would keep automatically repeating and replaying the record over and over, and it played all throughout the day, without anyone noticing. By the time we went to bed that night, you can just imagine what kind of shape Loretta's record was in. 

After Mom, Dad, my sister, Debbie, and I had all gone to bed and the house was quiet, we heard the strangest noise. I remember Dad calling to Debbie and me in our room down the hall asking us what the noise was. Of course, we didn't know, so Dad got up to investigate and found the Loretta Lynn record, in a very warped condition, still playing! I don't remember all the songs on that album, but I clearly remember this one.

Loretta Lynn had those same, down-home, country-to-the-core qualities as the ones in Dad that I wrote about in this post. To them and their kind of people, country wasn't even about being a genre of music—it was a way of life. It was an inborn quality that followed them long after they left the poor and humble beginnings of home. County grit and survival were a part of their roots and DNA and proved the point that you can take the boy or girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy or girl.

Those childhood musical influences still echo in my heart and life, and I love singing covers of Loretta Lynn's songs, along with the songs of Dolly Parton and many others with Mountain Hope Band. I'm so thankful Chuck, Pat, and Michael have as deep a love and appreciation for the music as I do. One thing that has amazed me is how many other people love and appreciate it, too. In a world where country music is anything but country, I think a lot of people crave to hear what country music started out as and will always be.

On October 4, 2022, I had just gotten off the phone talking to my Aunt Linda when she called back with tears in her voice. "Cheryl, Loretta died." We both had a good cry. Aunt Linda sang Loretta's songs, too, for many years, accompanied by Uncle John on the guitar. Their covers of Loretta's solos and Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn duets were some of the best ever. As we talked, Aunt Linda said, "There is no one who could ever fill Loretta's shoes." I could not agree more.

After Kevin got home from work, he and I were talking about the same thing, and he made such a good point. This younger generation can't even understand where Loretta was coming from. The songs they write and the music they pump out aren't even in the same musical universe as that of Loretta Lynn and other country music pioneers because most haven't lived the hard kind of life that inspired the true stories in those songs. They know nothing of the life Loretta lived, growing up dirt poor in Butcher Holler. Most don't have a clue what it means to do without and sacrifice the way she did. The songs Loretta Lynn wrote came from a place of pure personal experience and first-hand hardship. They were real and authentic, and that is a quality that is entirely missing in the shallow, unwholesome noise being pumped out and labeled "country" in today's world. It is worlds-apart different from what truly defines country music. In my opinion, it doesn't deserve to be called "country," and I personally can't stand it—in case you couldn't tell.😂

That's why so many of us can relate to those old songs and that's one of the many reasons Loretta Lynn was such a precious treasure and why our hearts shatter to hear that she is no longer with us. Knowing those original, founding country music singers are all dying off leaves me with a sad, aching void inside.

I found it very telling to read Loretta Lynn's last Facebook post. To me, this speaks volumes and says all that needs to be said about who she was and what she believed.

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Loretta Lynn 

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Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

John 3:20-21

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As long as I am able and God allows me to, I will continue to do my part to keep Loretta's and many of those other songs alive. Two of my favorite Loretta Lynn covers are the ones below. I hope you enjoy Mountain Hope Band's version of them. If you do, please consider clicking over to our YouTube channel, giving us a "like," and how about subscribing while you're there? 😁 We would appreciate it from the bottom of our grateful hearts.

Goodbye, dear, sweet Loretta Lynn. 
Your memory, legacy, songs, and unforgettable contribution to the world of country music—to all of our worlds, will forever remain in our hearts.