Loretta Lynn – They don’t make ‘em like my Daddy Anymore

“They Don’t Make ‘em Like My Daddy” , a song written by Jerry Chesnut, was recorded by Loretta Lynn for the MCA label on April 25, 1972, in Bradley’s Barn, 722 Bender’s Ferry Road, Mount Juliet, TN, In the same session two other songs were also recorded: “Be proud of your man” and “Legend in my mind”. In the recording session Loretta was accompanied by: Grady Martin (guitar), Ray Edenton (acoustic guitar), Hal Rugg (steel), Harold Bradley (bass guitar), Bob Moore (bass), Buddy Harman (drums), Hargus Robbins (piano) and The Jordanaires. With the production of Owen Bradley, the song was released on April 1, 1974, on July 6, 1974, reached # 4 on the US Hot Country Songs charts, remaining on the charts a total of 15 weeks. And on July 27, 1974, it reached # 1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks charts.

The song was included in Loretta’s twenty-fourth studio album, They Don’t Make ‘em Like My Daddy (MCA 1974), the album was released on September 2, 1974, and on November 9, 1974, reached the No. 6 on the charts of the US Top Country Albums, remaining in the charts a total of 22 weeks.

Versions:
Cal Smith 1974 (MCA Records)
Jean Stafford 1979 (Hadley Records)
Wildfire 2016 (Pinecastle Records) Bluegrass Version

Loretta Lynn – They don’t make ‘em like my Daddy Anymore Lyrics

I wasn’t much more than a baby I thought he was a bear
The way my daddy carried me around
They said I learned to walk while holdin’ on to just one finger
On the hand of a man that stands at six-foot-three
Not old enough to understand the meaning of depression
Just something people talked about a lot
My daddy wasn’t one that tried to make no big impressions
Just one heck of a man that worked for what he got
They don’t make men like my daddy anymore
Guess they’ve thrown away the pattern through the years
In a great big land of freedom at a time we really need ‘em
They don’t make ‘em like my daddy anymore
[ guitar ]
From the Johnson County coal camps to the hills of West Virginia
My daddy hauled the timber for the mines
Education didn’t count so much as what you had born in you
Like the will to live and a dream of better times
Daddy never took a handout we ate pinto beans a bacon
But he worked to keep the wolf back from the door
And it only proves one thing to me when folks start belly achin’
They don’t make ‘em like my daddy anymore
They don’t make men…
They don’t make ‘em like my daddy anymore