Kentucky Songwriters Share Loretta Lynn Tribute Song You Have to Hear

When news broke earlier this weekend that country music icon and legend Loretta Lynn had passed away at the age of 90, I immediately thought about some of my favorite Loretta Lynn memories- seeing her at the The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and my absolute favorite Loretta story ever. This one is classic.

Though I didn't witness this personally, a very good radio friend of mine did and it's become local legend. Loretta was playing a concert in the Showroom Lounge at the Executive Inn Rivermont in downtown Owensboro. "The Big E", as it was called, is long gone, but stories about the stars who performed there live on.  Stories like this one.

Loretta was on stage and was chewing gum. She realized she probably needed to get rid of it so, in true Loretta fashion, she reached into her mouth, pulled it out and stuck it on the piano. The story, as it was relayed to me and others, gets even better.

There was a devoted Loretta fan sitting near the front of the stage and she started waving to get Loretta's attention. When Loretta asked her what she wanted, the woman told her that she wanted her gum.  So, Loretta, never one to let a fan down, got the gum, put it in a napkin and gave it the fan.

I freaking LOVE that story. And I loved Loretta Lynn- the spunk, the songwriting and the manner in which she inspired generations of female country artists who came after her.

It's that spunk that inspired my friend DJ Potter and I to write a Loretta tribute back in 2010. I created the concept for the song, which we wrote for our friend Jaclyn Graves, who, at the time, also worked with me at WBKR.  The concept was this. What if there was a song, sung by someone who has found herself essentially living the lyrics of virtually every hit song in Loretta's library. And what if she was asking herself WWLD- what would Loretta do?

Here are the lyrics. As you'll see, Loretta's songs inspired the lyrics and some of her biggest hits are woven through the story. We wanted our song to truly be a tribute to the country music icon and I think we succeeded.

WHAT WOULD LORETTA DO?

Written by Chad Benefield & DJ Potter- Copyright 2010

1^ST VERSE

YOU’RE LOOKING AT COUNTRY

AND HER MAN HAS LOST HIS MIND

I CAN’T FEEL YOU ANYMORE

‘CAUSE YOU HAVE CROSSED THE LINE

IT SEEMS YOU HAVE AN APPETITE

FOR WINE, WOMEN AND SONG

IF YOU THINK I’LL PUT UP WITH THAT

I GUESS YOU FIGURED WRONG

WHEN I’M PULLING OUT MY HAIR

‘CAUSE I’M TIRED OF PLAYING NICE

I ASK A MINER’S DAUGHTER

TO GIVE ME SOME ADVICE

CHORUS

W-W-L-D

WHAT WOULD LORETTA DO

WHEN YOU COME HOME A DRINKIN’

MORE THAN A TIME OR TWO

WHEN MY THOUGHTS ARE RATED X

AND I’M FED UP TO HERE WITH YOU

I TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND ASK MYSELF

WHAT WOULD LORETTA DO

2^ND VERSE

THE FIRE IS CLOSE TO GONE

THE TINGLE’S BECOME A CHILL

I’M SO STINKIN’ MAD AT YOU

I’M REACHIN’ FOR THE PILL

MY FEELINGS ARE ALL CONFLICTED

YOU’VE GOT ME SEEIN’ RED

DO I WANNA GET YOU OUTTA MY HEAD

OR BACK IN MY BED

WHEN I’M PULLING OUT MY HAIR

AND FIST CITY’S SOUNDING NICE

I CONSULT THE MINER’S DAUGHTER

WHEN THERE’S TROUBLE IN PARADISE

REPEAT CHORUS

BRIDGE

I ASK AND ASK MYSELF

TIME AND TIME AGAIN

WHAT WOULD THAT LOUiSIANA WOMAN DO

WITH HER MISSISSIPPI MAN

REPEAT CHORUS

Though Jaclyn often performed "What Would Loretta Do?" in concert with her band, we never really got the chance to record the song in the studio. All we have is a rough demo of it, but you'll get the idea.

Take a listen and see what you think.

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