The Childhood of Loretta Lynn as Told in Artistry of ‘Little Red Shoes’

While waiting for the new album of Loretta Lynn and of course her majesty to grace the stage once again, we thought that we could revisit one of her songs that does not only tell a story in a Coal Miner’s Daughter way but also stand out among other Loretta Lynn songs in its style and artistry. The song Little Red Shoes was inspired by a childhood story of Loretta Lynn and how it represents a life and death situation in the process. The said song was included in Van Lear Rose album that was released last April 27, 2004. Several critics had included the said album in several greatest albums list and we could not agree as it featured many crossover and genre-bending songs including Little Red Shoes.

Little Red Shoes, Loretta Lynn

Unlike the usual honky tonk and the Loretta Lynn way of songs, the Little Red Shoes is a spoken word song that was the result of a little bit of trickery from the producer side, Jack White who was then producing Lynn’s album.

In her book, Honky Tonk Girl: My Life In Lyrics, Lynn recalled how the producer was actually secretly recording her while she is recalling a certain memory from her childhood. She said:

“I started telling him a story about when I was a little girl and my daddy and mommy had saved up enough money and they bought me a pair of little red shoes. They were the prettiest things I ever saw. That same year I got really sick, and the town doctor told mommy I might die, and I almost did. My mommy put my little red shoes away thinking I’d never get to wear them. Well, I did get better and I did wear those shoes, and how I loved them! I was just sitting and talking to Jack, telling him about all this. I didn’t know he was taping me. When we were done he said, ‘Well, there’s the song!'”

Listen to the recording here and let us know what you think: