Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)

Sissy Spacek: Loretta Lynn

Photos 

Quotes 

• Loretta Lynn : [in a radio interview]  Shoot, we've been driving so much, I don't know where I am half the time. But it's fun. We sing, and talk, and Doo - that's my husband - he'll get to acting horny.

  Speedy West : [shocked]  What!

  Loretta Lynn : And the more I laugh, the hornier he gets, and then he'll say, "Loretta, spread me up another one of them baloney sandwiches!"

  Radio station manager : [later]  I don't know where in the hell you think you are, lady, but that kind of smut don't go in this part of the country!

  Loretta Lynn : I didn't know it was dirty! I thought "horny" meant cuttin' up and acting silly!

• Loretta Lynn : [to Doolittle]  An' stoppa that growlin'. You sound like a big ol' bar.

• Loretta Lynn : [catches Doolittle with another woman]  Woman, if you want to keep that arm, you better get it off my husband.

  Girl at fairgrounds : Who are you telling what?

  Loretta Lynn : I don't know who you are, but I know what you are.

• Doolittle Lynn : Mr. Webb, me and Loretta are fixin' to get married, if it's alright with you.

  Ted Webb : Go ask Clary.

  [Doolittle walks through the house to the kitchen] 

  Doolittle Lynn : Mrs. Webb, me and Loretta is thinkin' about gettin' married tomorrow.

  Clara Webb : Go ask Ted.

  [Doolittle walks back onto the porch, then back into the house] 

  Loretta Webb : Doolittle, what are you doin'?

  Doolittle Lynn : Ted says go ask Clary; Clary says go ask Ted; I don't know.

  Loretta Webb : Wait 'til they go to bed; then you can catch them together. 'Less they'll keep you runnin' back and forth all night long.

• [Doolittle walks out of the door after an argument with Loretta] 

  Loretta Lynn : Doolittle; are you leavin'?

  Doolittle Lynn : [come back in the house]  Naw, Loretta; *I* ain't leavin'.

  [Loretta walks up to her parents' house] 

  Ted Webb : Well, look whose back!

  Loretta Lynn : Doolittle's done throwed me out.

  Clara Webb : Maybe it ain't to late to stop you from ruinin' your life.

  Ted Webb : I believe married life is makin' you fat, girl.

  Clara Webb : [to herself]  Oh, no!

• Loretta Lynn : [Doolittle buys Loretta a guitar]  Doolittle, I can't play that thing!

  Doolittle Lynn : Well, most people can't till they learn how, dammit!

• Loretta Lynn : Hey Doolittle Lynn, who's that sow you got wallowin' in your jeep?

  Girl : What'd you call me?

  Loretta Lynn : A sow, that's a woman pig!

• Radio station manager : Come off that *dumb* hillbilly act!

  Doolittle Lynn : You know, mister, if you knew Loretta, you'd know that ain't no act.

  Loretta Lynn : Thank you, Doo.

• Loretta Lynn : Dadgum it, Doo! You never ask me nothing! You just say, "Hey baby, here's the deal, take it or leave it." Well, it's drivin' me crazy, Doo!

  Doolittle Lynn : Well, hell, then let's go up to the house, call a lawyer and get a divorce. I'm tired of this bullshit.

  Loretta Lynn : I don't want no divorce! I just want the dadgum bedroom in the back of the house!

• Ted Webb : I ain't ever gonna see you again.

  Loretta Lynn : Yes you will, daddy.

  Ted Webb : Maybe. But I ain't never gonna see my little girl again. Them years has been robbed from me, like a thief broke in and robbed 'em.

• Doolittle Lynn : Loretta, I am leaving Kentucky. I'm going out west to Washington to get me a job on a ranch or something. That damned ol' coal mine's got me buried alive.

  Loretta Lynn : Was you just gonna leave me?

  Doolittle Lynn : Just long enough to get the money to send for you.

  Loretta Lynn : What makes you think I'd come?

  Doolittle Lynn : 'Cause you're my wife, darling!

  Loretta Lynn : I'm your wife! Boy, you better think of a better reason than that.

  Doolittle Lynn : There ain't nothing for me in Kentucky, Loretta. Except a chest full of coal dust and bein' an old man time I'm 40. You ask your daddy. 'Sides that, you got to come with me, I love you.

  Loretta Lynn : You promised Daddy you wouldn't take me off far from home.

  Doolittle Lynn : Well, you just have to make up your mind, darling, whether or not you're his daughter or my wife. Get in. I'll take you back to the house. What are you doing in the bottom anyhow?

  Loretta Lynn : I come to see Doc Turner.

  Doolittle Lynn : You sick?

  Loretta Lynn : Yeah, I'm gonna have a baby.

  Doolittle Lynn : [laughs]  Oh, Lord, Loretta. You know, darlin', you might have found something that you know how to do.

• Loretta Lynn : I'm gettin' so sick of baloney.

  Doolittle Lynn : You are? Well, you know what they say about eatin' baloney, don't you?

  Loretta Lynn : No, what?

  Doolittle Lynn : Makes you horny.

  Loretta Lynn : What does that mean?

  Doolittle Lynn : [starts laughing]  Are you so dadburn ignorant, you don't know what "horny" means?

  Loretta Lynn : No, what does it mean?

  Doolittle Lynn : I ain't gonna tell you.

  Loretta Lynn : Doo! Doo, what does it mean? What does it mean?

• Loretta Lynn : I had something I wanted to tell y'all tonight. But Doo, he don't want me to say nothing. But I can tell you, friends, cause you wouldn't be here if you didn't care about me.

  Loretta Lynn : See, things is moving too fast in my life. Always have. I mean. one day I was this little girl. The next day I was married. Next I was having babies. Next day I was out here singing for y'all.

  Loretta Lynn : Patsy's always saying, "Little girl, you got to run your own life." But my life's running me.

• Loretta Lynn : I done wrote me a song, Betty Sue. Your mama dadgome songwriter now.

  Betty Sue Lynn : That's a nice song, mama.

  Loretta Lynn : Thank you, baby.

• Patsy Cline : People want to know who you've been sleeping with that you've been on so many times.

  Loretta Lynn : Who's been a sayin' that?

  Patsy Cline : Gals that have been sleepin' with everybody and still ain't been on yet.

• [after discovering Mooney with a young woman] 

  Loretta Lynn : I'm warning you Doolittle, I'd better never catch you with trash like that again! I mean it!

• Loretta Lynn : [trying out a new song]  It goes like this "It'll be over my dead body, so get out while you can", then it drops down to "cause you ain't woman enough to take my man!"

  Doolittle Lynn : Where'd you come up with the idea for that song, Loretta?

• Doolittle Lynn : [comes stumbling in drunk]  Happy anniversary, darlin'!

  Loretta Lynn : Yeah, it looks like you had a happy one. Y'know, Doo, most couples spend their anniversary together.

  [notices the guitar] 

  Loretta Lynn : What's that?

  Doolittle Lynn : Oh, that's your anniversary present, baby. Happy anniversary.

  Loretta Lynn : My anniversary present! Doo, sometimes I think you got a washer missin' in your brain. I can't play that thing!

• Doolittle Lynn : [has just tasted Loretta's cooking for the first time]  Make many pies, Loretta?

  Loretta Lynn : Naw, this is the first one.

  Doolittle Lynn : How much salt that recipe call for?

  Loretta Lynn : Shoot, you don't put salt in a pie! You put in flour and eggs and sugar and... oh no.

  Doolittle Lynn : Makes sense though; salt and sugar are both white.

• Loretta Lynn : [after hearing of Patsy's death]  She can't be dead, Doo! We're goin' shopping! Who am I gonna talk to now?

• Loretta Lynn : I ain't no singer, Doo. I can't sing for no strangers.

  Doolittle Lynn : Yes, you can. I done fixed it up for you. There ain't no problem.

  Loretta Lynn : You didn't ask me nothin' about it!

  Doolittle Lynn : How the hell can I ask you somethin' about it if you run off and hide like a stupid hillbilly?

  Loretta Lynn : Don't call me that. I may be ignorant, but I ain't stupid. Why do you want me to sing so much for anyway?

  Doolittle Lynn : 'Cause I'm proud of you when you sing.

  Loretta Lynn : Doo, I'm glad I make you proud, honey, but I can't sing in front of people. I just can't!

  Doolittle Lynn : Yes, you can, baby. You're gonna sing for these old boys in here in the morning, and next week you're gonna be up on that stage singing for all these people here, if I have to kick your st-, ignorant hillbilly ass every step of the way!

• [the morning after the wedding night] 

  Loretta Lynn : This stuff's cold.

  Doolittle Lynn : That's because it froze between here and the damn restaurant. You want a hot breakfast, you got to go with me.

  Loretta Lynn : I ain't going in there having all them people looking at me knowing what we've been doing in here.

  Doolittle Lynn : Hell's Bells, Loretta. You think this is somethin' the rest of the world ain't caught onto yet? They don't give a damn.

  Doolittle Lynn : Hell's bells, Loretta, do you think this is something the rest of the world ain't caught on to yet? They don't give a damn. Baby, it's just a little rough the first time, that's all.

  Loretta Lynn : Didn't seem too rough on you.

  Doolittle Lynn : Well, you better get used to it, darling, because that's what a damn marriage...

  Loretta Lynn : I ain't gonna get used to you gettin' on me and sweatin' like an old pig!

• Loretta Lynn : The Grand Ole Opry! What if they won't let me in?

  Doolittle Lynn : They'd better let us in, I done spent all the money on these donuts. Besides that, how are they gonna keep us out? We're number 14! Nationwide.

• Doolittle Lynn : Well, there ain't no sense in walkin' when you can ride. Come on!

  Loretta Lynn : I ain't gettin' in that thang.

  Doolittle Lynn : You ain't never rode in a car before, have you?

  Loretta Lynn : That ain't no car. Looks like something from Mars.

  Doolittle Lynn : Mars? Gal, what the hell do you know about Mars anyway? I'll bet you ain't never been past the mouth of this hollow. Come on now, get in this thing.

  Loretta Lynn : I said I ain't gettin' in it and I ain't. If you like me so much, you can walk me home.

  Doolittle Lynn : Oh, Lord, them pies ain't the only thing salty about you, are they? Wait a minute! Wait, we'll walk it, then. Wait!

• Loretta Lynn : I just can't believe I'm sittin' here talkin' to Patsy Cline.

  Patsy Cline : You act like you ain't never seen a glamorous country music singer before.

• Doolittle Lynn : [as Loretta is putting the babies to bed]  Baby, I was just thinking... we got an anniversary coming up and I was wondering what kind of anniversary present you wanted.

  Loretta Lynn : Hmm... well, I ain't got no wedding ring yet.

  Doolittle Lynn : Wedding ring! Bullshit!

  Loretta & Mooney's child : Ah, bullshit!

  Loretta's child : Ah ha ha ha!

• Loretta Lynn : [trying to practice the guitar but her sons keep interrupting]  If you boys don't settle down on this porch, I'm gonna have to whup you!

  Loretta & Mooney's child : That's right!

• Loretta Lynn : [performing for her children, but her sons are wrestling]  You boys stop fightin' and listen to me sing!

• Ted Webb : Get up here. Let's see what you weigh.

  Loretta Lynn : 117? Boy, Daddy, this baby's gonna be a big one, ain't it? You weigh now.

  Ted Webb : It wouldn't do no good. I wouldn't know how much was me, how much was all that coal dust I swallowed.

• Doolittle Lynn : Hey, Loretta? I'm gonna bring my jeep up here and take you for a ride.

  Loretta Webb : You ain't gonna get that thing up this holler.

  Doolittle Lynn : There ain't nothing I can't do, girl, once I set my mind to it.

• Loretta Webb : You sure cuss a lot, don't ya?

  Doolittle Lynn : Yeah, I do. Cuss, drink, chase wild women.

• Loretta Lynn : What you get me a guitar for?

  Doolittle Lynn : 'Cause I like the way you sing.

  Loretta Lynn : Do you really think I sing good?

  Doolittle Lynn : Baby, I know you do.

• Loretta Lynn : [singing]  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 my daddy made sure of, He shoveled coal to make a poor man's dollar...

• Doolittle Lynn : Deal is, Loretta, you can sing in every little honky tonk in the country. There's thousands doing it and they ain't getting nowhere and they never will. The thing that's gonna give you the edge is getting yourself a record. And the next step's even more important than that and that's getting people to play the dad-burned thing, but right now what you and me have to worry about... is you making the best doggone record you can, it all depends on that, darling.

  Loretta Lynn : Boy, Doo, I didn't know you knew so much about the music business.

  Doolittle Lynn : I don't. I'm just figuring it out as I go along, listening to people talk.

• John Penn : And now, folks, we've got a special treat for you. Making her very first public appearance, please welcome The Westerneers' new girl singer, Miss Loretta Lynn!

  Loretta Lynn : [singing]  There-ere he goes, He's walkin' away, And each step he takes, Brings heartache my way, She's won his heart, I lost him someway, There-ere he goes, He's walkin' away. Oh, if I hadn't cheated, And if I hadn't lied, I'd be the one-on, Who's walkin' by his side. I-I-I love him still, And I guess it shows, The way that I feel, As there-ere he goes...

• Recording Engineer : That little lady sings her hind end off.

  Loretta Lynn : [singing]  Ever since you left me I've done nothin' but wrong, Many nights I've laid awake and cr-ied, We were so happy my heart was in a whirl...

• Loretta Lynn : It's just got three chords.

• Radio station manager : I don't know where in the hell you think you are, lady, but that kind of smut don't go on in this part of the country.

  Loretta Lynn : I didn't know it was dirty. I thought horny meant cutting up and acting silly.

• Doolittle Lynn : Loretta, this ol' mountain top is gonna be covered in wildflowers in six weeks' time, what the hell are you doing bringing plastic ones up here?

  Loretta Lynn : Because they don't die. The real ones just die.

  Doolittle Lynn : Darlin'...

  Loretta Lynn : Like everything else.

• Doolittle Lynn : Girl, you sure got over being bashful fast.

  Loretta Lynn : I just done what you said, just opened my mouth and out it come. I couldn't even stop. I didn't have no more notion of what I was gonna say than a rabbit.

  Doolittle Lynn : You keep on being a rabbit then, darlin'.

• Doolittle Lynn : Darlin', if you don't want it, I ain't gonna make you do nothing you don't wanna do. It's your choice. We'll just go back to what we was doing, that's all.

  Loretta Lynn : I want it.

  Doolittle Lynn : What?

  Loretta Lynn : I said I want it!

  Doolittle Lynn : Baby, I can't hear you!

  Loretta Lynn : I wanna be a singer, Doo! I want it real bad. I want it real bad.

• Loretta Lynn : Doo, they liked me.

  Doolittle Lynn : Yeah, baby, they loved you. They loved you!

• Patsy Cline , Loretta Lynn : [singing]  I'm back in baby's arms, How I missed those lovin' arms, I'm back where I belong, Back in baby's arms

  Loretta Lynn : Don't know why we quarreled, We never did before

  Patsy Cline : Since we found how much it hurts, I bet we never quarrel anymore

• Loretta Lynn : [singing]  Well, I like my lovin' done country style, And this little girl would walk a country mile, To find her a good ol' slow-talkin' country boy, I said a country boy, I'm about as old-fashioned as I can be, And I hope you're likin' what you see, 'Cause if you're lookin' at me, You're lookin' at country...

• Charlie Dick : Hey, Patsy, Mooney says he's gonna take me squirrel hunting.

  Patsy Cline : Oh, now, Charlie Dick, don't you bring home no squirrels. When I left Virginia I swore I'd never eat another squirrel as long as I live.

  Loretta Lynn : I love squirrel meat. Don't you like squirrel, Patsy?

  Patsy Cline : Of course I do. I married Charlie, didn't I?

• Doolittle Lynn : Hey, darling, how about Saturday night let's get us one of them babysitters and - go honky-tonkin'?

  Loretta Lynn : You mean together?

  Doolittle Lynn : Yeah,

  [chuckles] 

  Doolittle Lynn : Together.

• Betty Sue Lynn : Are you and Daddy going out again tonight, Mama?

  Loretta Lynn : Yes, honey, I've got to sing over in Lynden.

  Betty Sue Lynn : Can I go with you?

  Loretta Lynn : Oh, no, that's a rough old honky tonk. You can't be going over there.

• Doolittle Lynn : Tell you one thing that army showed me. There's a whole big world out yonder. Showed me I ain't about to spend my life buried in no coal mine, neither. Ain't no future in it, not a damn bit. And that's what I'm interested in, mainly, course, is the future. You got any plans for the future?

  Loretta Webb : Not that I know of.

• Clara Webb : Bad times is a-comin'.

  Ted Webb : Well, we don't need no fortune-teller to know that.

  Loretta Webb : [singing, while rocking her baby sister]  In the pines, in the pines, Where the sun never shines, And I shiver when the cold wind blows...

• Doolittle Lynn : [on their wedding night]  Loretta, you ain't supposed to wear a nightgown over your clothes.

  Loretta Lynn : I'm freezing, Doo.

  Doolittle Lynn : Get on in there and take off everything, but your nightgown now. Go on, Loretty. Go on!

• Loretta Webb : I can't breathe. I feel like I'm gonna faint.

  Doolittle Lynn : Well, that's the way you're supposed to feel when you're in love.

  Loretta Webb : It is?

• Ted Webb : Doolittle's been up the house every day this week. I don't want him hanging around no more.

  Loretta Webb : Why?

  Ted Webb : 'Cause you ain't got no business hanging around with him. You're just a little girl, he's a grown-up man, wild as the devil.

  Loretta Webb : I love him, Daddy. And he's a-wanting me to marry him.

  Ted Webb : You ain't even 14 yet.

• Doc Turner : Ready, Loretta? The last time I seen you I was giving you kids a shot for the measles. Here you are an old married woman. How do you like it?

  Loretta Lynn : Fine. - Except me and Doo is separated.

  Doc Turner : Things happen pretty fast between you and Doo, don't they?

• Loretta Lynn : [Doo gives Loretta a book called "Sex for Newlyweds"]  My gosh, Doo, this has got pictures in it.

  Doolittle Lynn : Oh, Loretty, that there book, that thing's helped millions of people the world over. I thought it might do us a little good.

  Loretta Lynn : I can't read this book, Doo. It's got all 'em great big ol' words in it. Look at this one. Look! That dadgum word is a foot long. Now, what's a foot-long word supposed to mean, huh? Oh, Doo, I don't need no book to tell me what's wrong. You just need to be a little more patient and gentle with me, honey, that's all. I just need a little more time.

  Doolittle Lynn : Give you a little more time. Well, let me add up all these damn things I'm supposed to give you some more time on. You need a little more time to learn how to cook. You need a little more time to learn how to clean the damn house. Plus. you need a little more time to learn how to love your man the way you're supposed to. Goddamn, is there anything that you know how to do right now?

• Loretta Lynn : I wrote the song and Doo heard it, and he said, "That's about the prettiest song as I ever heard - good as Patsy Cline." I said, "Oh, ain't nobody sings as good as Patsy."

• Doolittle Lynn : Don't you know he'd rather cut off his arm than have to whip you like that? What you mean running off like that with that wild boy?

  Loretta Webb : I love him, Mommy.

  Doolittle Lynn : You do no such a thing. Stay away from that Doolittle Lynn or I'll give you worse than what your Daddy did.