Lyrical Analysis and Songwriting

In this activity, students are introduced to country music legend Loretta Lynn, whose music and lyrics embody her upbringing in the mountains of eastern Kentucky and strong feminist ideals in equal measure. Students will analyze and discuss the lyrics of Lynn's career-defining hit song “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” paying particular attention to detail, imagery, and the biographical quality of her words. To culminate, students will complete a multi-step writing exercise that invites them to compose a vivid recollection from their own lives, in the style of Loretta Lynn. Introductory Activity Listen to Coal Miner’s Daughter. Distribute lyrics so students can follow along and take notes as they listen. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” by Loretta Lynn (Listen) Instructions to students: With the lyrics in front of you, listen to the entirety of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” As you listen, mark significant details, paying particular attention to lyrics that stand out as revealing or descriptive. Underline words or phrases that convey strong emotions or help paint a picture in your head.

Hank Williams was called the 'Hillbilly Shakespeare' because of the striking imagery of his lyrics and for the extent to which he influenced how other musicians write songs. In this activity, students will close read Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” to evaluate the effects of diction, imagery, sensory detail, and personification on the emotional relevance of a text. Students will consider the song’s emotional power alongside its lyrical simplicity. To conclude, students will have the opportunity to complete a writing exercise that asks them to observe and reflect on their surroundings to articulate and express a story, inspired by Williams. Introductory Activity:  With the lyrics in front of you, listen to the entirety of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” paying particular attention to Williams’s diction, or word choice. Underline verbs (whine, crawl, hide, weep); circle adjectives (blue, lonesome, falling, purple). “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams (Listen)

In 1927, record producer Ralph Peer recorded the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers over just a few days, establishing the bedrock of American country music in so doing. Together, the Carters and Rodgers embody the Saturday night/Sunday morning tension that extends back to the genre's beginnings. Rodgers represented the saloon and carousing (Saturday night) while the Carters stood for family, home, and church (Sunday morning). By watching select clips from Ken Burns' Country Music and analyzing the lyrics of early commercial country songs in context, students will better understand why the concept of Saturday night/Sunday morning is so integral to the genre.

A.P. Carter was called a “songcatcher,” a musician who collected lyrics and melodies from family members, friends, and neighbors. Carter worked and traveled with African American musician Lesley Riddle to gather music from towns throughout the U.S. On one of these song-catching trips, Carter found the folk tune that became the the Carter Family's 1929 “I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes.” A string of country song-writers — Roy Acuff, Hank Thompson, and Kitty Wells — produced their own hit songs by writing new lyrics to the same melody in the decades that followed. In this ELA exercise, students will compare meaning through lyrical analysis, learn about the concept of an "answer song," and consider the role of collaboration and iteration in music and art more broadly.