Today, for our Smile for a Saturday, I wanted to feature a uniquely American artist, a fierce voice for those whose voices often go unheeded — and a reckoning of conscience for us all.
There are a lot of people who potentially could fit the above description. That’s what makes the world of artistic expression so vibrant and important. But today I wanted to feature a personal favorite: the country music superstar singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Loretta lately as our nation is convulsed in division along many fault lines: regional, rural/urban, young/old, Republican/Democrat. Increasingly we see ourselves as belonging to very different camps, separated by chasms of disconnect, real or imagined. And this conceptualization shapes our national discourse.
But Loretta is a reminder that people aren’t merely a checklist of issues. We are complex, prone to conflicting thoughts and instincts. She always claimed her music wasn’t political (even when it was), was friends with Jimmy Carter, and supported Donald Trump in 2016. She was skeptical of the women’s liberation movement, at least the way it was presented in urban centers on the national stage. Yet she wrote and performed searing songs, many that provoked backlash, that got to the heart of a certain type of women’s experience. They were true to the life she knew as a young mother balancing poverty and a complicated relationship with her husband. She had been married at 15 and had four children before she turned 20.
We are sharing performances of three songs below: “One’s on the Way,” “The Pill,” and “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’.” We are also sharing the lyrics for full effect. I hope you will find the same inspired spirit and clarity of storytelling that I find so important, and a reason to smile.
But before we get to that, I felt it would be helpful to include an excerpt about Loretta from my book What Unites Us:
A coal miner’s daughter who rose from poverty-stricken Appalachia to Nashville royalty, [Lynn] epitomized the Horatio Alger stories and the American Dream, albeit with a very important twist. Loretta Lynn achieved all this as a female artist.
Lynn’s catalog of songs is one of the most impressive collections of socially relevant commentary in the history of American music. As early as 1966, she was challenging her audience with a mournful story of a woman losing her husband to the Vietnam War. Entitled “Dear Uncle Sam,” it included poignant lyrics such as, “You said you really need him, but you don’t need him like I do.”
Lynn painted the lives of working-class women with honesty and humor. And she was undeterred in the face of opposition. She once told me, about her songs being banned, “When they don’t play ’em, you know it’s gonna be a hit.” Many radio stations at the time refused to play “The Pill,” a funny and yet fierce ode to women’s empowerment (which Lynn recorded but didn’t write). Released in 1975, it became her top crossover hit on the pop charts. I don’t think anybody had heard anything like it, with lines like, “You’ve set this chicken your last time, ’cause now I’ve got the pill.”
Lynn brought the intimate experiences of working-class American women to the nation’s airwaves, whether it was about a girl losing her virginity in “Wings Upon Your Horns,” the stigma of divorce on women in “Rated X” (“Divorce is the key to bein’ loose and free, so you’re gonna be talked about”), or the struggles of marriage in “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ ” (“No, don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind, just stay out there on the town and see what you can find”).
The rock star Jack White told me once that he revered Lynn’s work: “It was the female side of our species speaking, finally, for themselves out loud.” And Lynn told me herself, “When I’d go to do a show, all the women would be out there. ‘I’m with you,’ you know? And they’d holler at me and say, ‘You come to talk to us women.’ ” A lot of men also learned something from her songs, this one included. I consider her another patriotic artist, a fearless social commentator channeling the experiences of an overlooked segment of society.
If you are interested in hearing more from Loretta herself, here is an interview I did with her from a few years back.
Here is a live performance medley of “One’s on the Way” and “The Pill,” followed by Loretta telling the story of how she got started in the music business....
And here’s a performance of “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’
Lyrics for “One’s on the Way”
They say to have her hair done, Liz flies all the way to France
And Jackie's seen in a Discotecque doin' a brand new dance
And the White House social season should be glitterin' an' gay
But here in Topeka the rain is a fallin'
The faucet is a drippin' and the kids are a bawlin'
One of them a toddlin' and one is a crawlin'
And one's on the way
I'm glad that Raquel Welch just signed a million dollar pact
And Debbie's out in Vegas workin' up a brand new act
While the TV's showin' newlyweds, a real fun game to play
But here in Topeka, the screen door's a bangin'
The coffee's boilin' over and the wash needs a hangin'
One wants a cookie and one wants a changin'
And one's on the way
Now what was I doin', Jimmy get away from there
Darn, there goes the phone
Hello honey, what's that you say
You're bringin' a few old army buddies home
You're callin' from a bar
Get away from there, no, not you honey
I was talkin' to the baby
Wait a minute, honey, the door bell
Honey, could you stop at the market and hello, hello
Well, I'll be
The girls in New York City, they all march for women's lib
And Better Homes and Garden shows the modern way to live
And the pill may change the world tomorrow, but meanwhile, today
Here in Topeka, the flies are a buzzin'
The dog is a barkin' and the floor needs a scrubbin'
One needs a spankin' and one needs a huggin'
Lord, one's on the way
Lyrics for “The Pill”
You wined me and dined me
When I was your girl
Promised if I'd be your wife
You'd show me the world
But all I've seen of this old world
Is a bed and a doctor bill
I'm tearin' down your brooder house
'Cause now I've got the pill
All these years I've stayed at home
While you had all your fun
And every year that's gone by
Another baby's come
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
This old maternity dress I've got
Is goin' in the garbage
The clothes I'm wearin' from now on
Won't take up so much yardage
Miniskirts, hot pants and a few little fancy frills
Yeah I'm makin' up for all those years
Since I've got the pill
I'm tired of all your crowin'
How you and your hens play
While holdin' a couple in my arms
Another's on the way
This chicken's done tore up her nest
And I'm ready to make a deal
And ya can't afford to turn it down
'Cause you know I've got the pill
This incubator is overused
Because you've kept it filled
The feelin' good comes easy now
Since I've got the pill
It's gettin' dark it's roostin' time
Tonight's too good to be real
Oh, but daddy don't you worry none
'Cause mama's got the pill
Oh, daddy don't you worry none
'Cause mama's got the pill
Lyrics for “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’”
Well you thought I'd be waitin' up when you came home last night
You'd been out with all the boys and you ended up half tight
Liquor and love, they just don't mix
Leave that bottle or me behind
And don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind
No don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind
Just stay out there on the town and see what you can find
'Cause if you want that kind of love well you don't need none of mine
So don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind
You never take me anywhere because you're always gone
Many a night I've laid awake and cried dear all alone
Then you come in a kissin' on me it happens every time
So don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind
No don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind
Just stay out there on the town and see what you can find
'Cause if you want that kind of love well you don't need none of mine
So don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind
No don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind
I’m familiar with Loretta’s songs, but never really listened to all the lyrics. They bring tears to my eyes. As a child in the 60s I lived that era, but was too young to really realize what restrictions there were on women. I came of age in the seventies and it was a very different world for women then. These songs give me a better understanding of what it was like for women in previous years. Loretta Lynn…what a voice, both musically and for a generation of women!!!
If I could write a note to Loretta, here's what I would say ... I have always loved you Loretta Lynn, my Mom even named my sister and I after your twin daughters, Patsy and Peggy! I've been listening to your beautiful music and singing your songs since I was a young girl. Who am I to judge how you voted, I'm not judging, just expressing my thoughts, the most important thing is that in a democratic country, you could vote and your vote was counted. I only hope you and others, now see that to cast a vote for DJT is to wave goodbye to democracy in the USA. He is the narcissist that dreams of being a dictator/autocrat/fascist, call it what you want! It didn't take long for the World to realize that every word out of his mouth was/is a lie! Let's face it, the fact that he openly admires and aligns with Autocrats around the World, including the murderous Putin, should be a huge RED FLAG for everyone! For Trump to call Putin a genius as we watch the inhumane slaughter of the poor innocent Ukrainian people so he can lay claim to their land is beyond sobering and sickening. If Trump EVER returns to the Presidency of the USA, either legitimately or illegitimately by pulling off a coup, Lord help everyone! Corruption and nepotism will be rampant, Trump, his family and his cronies will pilfer from the government purse.
Think of the money DJT, Eric, Donald Jr and Ivanka have misused (stole) from the Trump "Charitable" Foundations, much of it was used to advance his 2016 election campaign, settle lawsuits, pay debts at his golf courses and Maralago, $20,000.00 for a 6' commissioned portrait of himself, there's no end to the corruption! For years Trump and his family have used shell companies to hide money like the mafia. Here's the future with Trump ... the poor will become poorer, the rich will become richer, your freedoms will vanish, further election results WILL be fraudulent and determined prior to the election, he will be the President until he dies ... the media will be controlled just like you see in Russia. All voters should be aware of what the frightening and sobering future would be for the USA if DJT ever again held presidential power!