The Daughter
Miranda Lambert Lyrics

Well, I was borned a coal miner's daughter,
The singer was born in a humble family where her father worked as a coal miner.

In a cabin, on a hill in Butcher Holler.
The singer grew up in a cabin located at a hill in Butcher Holler.

We were poor but we had love,
Despite their poverty, their family was loving.

That's the one thing that daddy made sure of,
The father made sure that they always had love in their family.

He shoveled coal to make a poor man's dollar.
The father's job was to shovel coal and earn a meager income.

My daddy worked all night in the Van Lear coal mines.
The father used to work in the Van Lear coal mines during the night.

All day long in the field a hoin' corn.
During the day, the father would work in the field planting corn.

Mommy rocked the babies at night,
The mother would take care of the babies at night.

And read the Bible by the coal oil light,
At night, the mother would read the Bible by the light of a coal oil lamp.

And ever' thing would start all over come break of morn.
Their daily routine would start again in the morning.

Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner's pay.
The father was able to raise eight children on a coal miner's meager income.

Mommy scrubbed our clothes on a washboard ever' day.
The mother would wash their clothes daily on a washboard.

Why I've seen her fingers bleed,
The singer witnessed her mother's hands bleed from extensive washing work.

To complain, there was no need,
The mother did not complain about her work despite it being difficult.

She'd smile in mommy's understanding way.
Despite the difficulties, the mother had an understanding smile on her face.

In the summertime we didn't have shoes to wear.
During summers, they couldn't afford to buy shoes.

But in the wintertime we'd all get a brand new pair.
During winters, the family somehow managed to buy new shoes for everyone.

From a mail order catalog
They would order shoes from a mail order catalog to buy them.

Money made from selling a hog,
Sometimes, they would sell their hog to earn money to buy shoes.

Daddy always managed to get the money somewhere.
The father would always find a way to arrange money to buy shoes.

Yeah, I'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter,
The artist is proud to have grown up as a coal miner's daughter.

I remember well, the well where I drew water.
The artist fondly remembers the well where they used to draw water.

The work we done was hard,
Their work was extremely hard and demanding.

At night we'd sleep 'cause we were tired
They would sleep at night because they were too tired from their work.

I never thought of ever leaving Butcher Holler.
The singer never thought of leaving Butcher Holler despite their hardships.

Well a lot of things have changed since a way back then
Many things have changed from the time when the singer grew up in Butcher Holler.

And it's so good to be back home again.
The singer is happy to be back home after a long time.

Not much left but the floor, nothing lives here anymore,
Their house is now abandoned and no one lives there anymore.

Except the memory of a coal miner's daughter
Only the memory of the artist, who grew up as a coal miner's daughter, remains in that place.