“Scroll down to the end of the article to listen to music.”
Introduction
I still remember watching the 2011 ACM Girls Night Out special like it was yesterday! It created such a remarkable moment in country music history when the industry’s most talented women gathered to celebrate Loretta Lynn—truly a pioneer who paved the way for every female country artist who followed.
The electricity in the air was palpable as Reba, Miranda, Martina, Carrie, Jennifer, and the Judds took the stage together. When they began performing “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” I felt shivers down my spine! Their unique voices blended so beautifully, transforming the performance into something much more meaningful than just another cover—it became a heartfelt tribute to Loretta’s incredible influence on country music.
You could see genuine admiration in their eyes and hear the emotion in each note. The perfect mix of respect and love came through with every lyric. When they finished, everyone instantly jumped up, applauding wildly—the audience’s reaction saying everything words couldn’t about the powerful connection shared in that moment.
Though Loretta couldn’t attend while recovering from knee surgery, her warm video message made her presence felt throughout the night. Years later, fans still cherish this collaboration online. As one viewer perfectly commented: “Well ladies you did good!! Nobody could top Ms. Loretta singing it but you ladies actually sounded like y’all rolled right out of a holler somewhere!”
Video
Lyrics
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
My daddy worked all night in the Van Lear coal mines
All day long in the field a hoin’ corn
Mommy rocked the babies at night
And read the Bible by the coal oil light
And ever’ thing would start all over come break of morn’
Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner’s pay
Mommy scrubbed our clothes on a washboard every day
Why, I’ve seen her fingers bleed
To complain, there was no need
She’d smile in mommy’s understanding way
In the summertime we didn’t have shoes to wear
But in the wintertime we’d all get a brand new pair
From a mail order catalog
Money made from selling a hog
Daddy always managed to get the money somewhere
Yeah, I’m proud to be a coal miner’s daughter
I remember well, the well where I drew water
The work we done was hard
At night we’d sleep ’cause we were tired
Never thought of ever leaving Butcher Holler
Well, a lot of things have changed since a way back then
Ah, and it’s so good to be back home again
Not much left but the floors, nothing lives here anymore
‘Cept the memories of a coal miner’s daughter
‘Cept the memories of a coal miner’s daughter