Watch Loretta Lynn Perform "Coal Miner's Daughter" on 'The Johnny Cash Show' in 1971

Just the pick-me-up we needed.

The most surefire way to a better day isn't pie nor cookies, Sweet Magnolias nor sweet tea, it's Loretta Lynn. More specifically, playing her ever-soothing 1970 country music smash hit, "Coal Miner's Daughter."

Just play that timeless first verse, and we're teleported to a calmer state of mind: "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." Call it a 50-year earworm, call it a stroke of genius, whatever you call it, it's clear that these simple yet touching lyrics are some of the best around.

Photo of Loretta LYNN
Richard E. Aaron/Redferns / Getty Images

That's why we were excited when we stumbled upon this 1971 performance of Lynn's chart-topping single from The Johnny Cash Show, from our friends over at country music lifestyle website, WhiskeyRiff.com. Backed by a full band and sporting a gorgeous periwinkle frock, Lynn spins her autobiographic yarn with equal parts down-home warmth and virtuoso talent. Watch the full performance below and prepare to be blown away.

Recently, we chatted with the Kentucky native and country great for our podcast, "Biscuits & Jam." In our interview, she reflected on her songwriting process, and how she relies on her own life experience so often when crafting a tune: "When it comes to writing a song, I write about me a lot. For ​Coal Miner's Daughter, I sat down on the back porch of the old home and just looked up the hill and started....Well, I was born a coal miner's daughter... and I wrote the song. It's like writing a poem," she told Southern Living editor-in-chief, Sid Evans.

Well, "Coal Miner's Daughter" sits with us like chicken soup for our Southern souls right about now. Just one more listen.

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