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Coal Miner’s Daughter by Loretta Lynn

Well I was born the 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 shovel coal to make a poor man’s dollar
My daddy worked all night in the Vanleer coal mine all day long in the field hoein’ corn
Mommie rocked the baby that night and read the Bible by the coal oil light
And everything would start all over come break of morn
Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner’s pay
Mommie scrubbed our clothes on a washboard everyday
Why I’ve seen her fingers bleed to complain there was no need
She’s smiled in mommie’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 by 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
I never thought I’d ever leave the Butcher Holler
But a lots of things have changed since the way back then
And it’s so good to be back home again
Not much left but the floor nothing lives there anymore
Just the mem’ries of a coal miner’s daughter

In just a few lines Loretta Lynn paints a picture of her identity, her values, and what she imagines a good life is. Look at the basic elements

• they were poor (financially) but love is more important than money
• Dad and Mom sacrificed for the children’s well-being. The kids learned to work too.
• The Bible was important
• 8 kids on a miner’s pay
• The love and the sacrifice were more praiseworthy and precious than the status that money or nice things afford

You can construct a whole culture around this. The image is also colored by a culture.

You could take many of the elements and tell a very different story, one of bitterness, resentment and loss.

Deuteronomy

In many ways the book of Deuteronomy attempts to do a similar thing for the people of Israel. Moses wants to cement their identity right before they go over into the new land. They need to know who they are and that involves where they came from, where they are going and what their relationship is with the one who is claiming them.

Obedience messages run throughout the story as they do throughout the book. We talked about them last week. 

• Obey so you may flourish in the land promised to your ancestors.
• He humbled you cause you to hunger to teach you that we don’t live by bread alone
• He took care of you
• He discipline you like a parent disciplines a child
• He’s bringing you into a good land with no scarcity
• Don’t let the abundance make you forget the value of what you’ll be given

Loretta and Deuteronomy Continue reading →