Country icon Loretta Lynn might not have considered herself a feminist, but that didn’t stop her from creating countless songs that contributed to a significant change in women’s voices in music. Lynn wasn’t the first nor the last woman in music to discuss taboo or controversial topics surrounding women’s sexuality, place in the family or workplace, or with one another.
However, her sheer domination of the country music legacy of the 1960s places her at the forefront of this movement—one that encouraged women to speak their truth, no matter how brash or “unladylike.” Lynn might have famously said she didn’t support the women’s liberation movement, but she certainly provided a suitable soundtrack for it nonetheless.
We explore three Loretta Lynn songs that helped shift women’s voices in country music from docile and lovelorn to headstrong and determined.
“The Pill”
More often than not, the bigger the stink a song makes, the more direct its message, and Loretta Lynn’s 1975 track “The Pill” certainly caused quite the odor amidst the conservative country crowd. At a time when contraception had only just become legal nationwide and was still largely unavailable in rural areas where most of Lynn’s fans lived, “The Pill” was an understandably divisive song about double standards regarding sexuality and the benefits of birth control.
All these years I’ve stayed at home while you had all your fun, Lynn sings in the second verse. 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. In a 1975 Playgirl interview, Lynn said her celebration of oral contraception almost got her kicked out of the Grand Ole Opry—but she didn’t care. “If they hadn’t let me sing the song, I’d have told them to shove the Grand Ole Opry,” she insisted.
“Fist City”
Loretta Lynn’s 1968 song “Fist City” is certainly not a feminist song with its woman-against-woman narrative. Nevertheless, the track marked a stark contrast from how women were often portrayed in music and life in general. Societal expectations of the time called for women to be docile, easygoing, and definitely not prone to outbursts of physical violence. “Fist City,” on the other hand, held no punches—literally. You better close your face and stay out of my way if you don’t wanna go to Fist City, Lynn boldly sings in the first verse.
Her fierce promise of violence toward women who made advances at her man wasn’t far from real-life. “I’ve been in a couple of fights in my life,” Lynn wrote in her 2001 memoir. “I fight like a woman. I scratch and kick and bite and punch. So, I warned any girl making eyes at Doo then, and I’m still jealous enough to warn ‘em today—if you see this cute little old boy near me wearing his cowboy hat, you’d better walk a circle around us.”
“Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)”
Much like “The Pill,” Loretta Lynn’s 1967 song “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” was remarkable in its blatant references to women taking control over their sexuality. At a time when the “norm” was women submitting to their husbands, Lynn’s song about refusing a drunk partner’s sexual advances was fairly revolutionary.
Don’t come home a-drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind, she sings in the chorus. 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. The sentiment clearly resonated with Lynn’s female audiences. “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’” was the first of many No. 1 hits for Lynn, the success of which contributed to her CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year the same year she released the hit song. Lynn’s No. 1 hit was only the seventh instance of a solo woman vocalist topping the charts, preceded by Goldie Hill, Connie Smith, Kitty Wells, and Patsy Cline.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Local News
Comments / 0