Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics

Country music legend Lynn (Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner's Daughter) offers fans a window into her life with this compilation of lyrics, interspersed with colorful anecdotes and myriad photos. Though it's fascinating to hear the stories behind tunes like "Fist City" and "Coal Miner's Daughter" (complete with facsimiles of handwritten lyrics), the real gold is in the numerous unreleased songs of the book's latter half%E2%80%94one can only hope that numbers like "That Pleading Look" and the spunky "Still Woman Enough" will get their day in the studio with Lynn behind the microphone. Throughout, the songstress's self-effacing comments and stories ring true in her unique voice. Of her lyrics, Lynn maintains that she "only write[s] about what [she's] lived," and so these verses and choruses make up more than merely a collection for sing-alongs; indeed, the songs tell Lynn's life story. Despite a host of accolades and decades on the stage, she remains a humble songwriter with a big heart and a gift for observant storytelling. This selection of some of country music's best-loved songs is a fine tribute to an American icon. 75,000 announced first printing. Photos. (Apr.)