You're Lookin' at Country
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{{Infobox song
| name = You're Lookin' At Country
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Loretta Lynn
| album = You're Lookin' At Country
| B-side = When You're Poor
| released = 7 May 1971 (U.S.)
| recorded = 25 November 1970
| studio = Bradley's Barn, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = 2:17
| label = Decca 32851
| writer = Loretta Lynn
| producer = Owen Bradley
| prev_title = I Wanna Be Free
| prev_year = 1971
| next_title = One's on the Way
| next_year = 1971
}}
“You’re Lookin’ at Country” is a song written and recorded by American country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released as a single in May 1971 by Decca Records, serving as the lead single from her album of the same name. The song reached number five on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and became one of Lynn’s signature hits, known for celebrating traditional country values.
About the song
Lynn wrote "You're Lookin' At Country" after gazing on the open country while touring with her band. Lynn said in an interview that she was inspired by all the meadows and hills that she saw while passing through the country. The song was unlike anything Lynn had been releasing at the time, other "Coal Miner's Daughter" from the previous year. Both songs did not speak of the subjects Lynn most often used in her songs, such as drunk husbands, adultery, and fighting back.
"I had to write 'You're Lookin' At Country' as a love song or it wouldn't sell", Lynn told Jimmy Guterman in the liner notes for the 1994 box set Honky Tonk Girl: The Loretta Lynn Collection. "But it wasn't a love song. I got the idea from looking at my land. I wanted to write what I saw".{{Cite AV media notes |title=Honky Tonk Girl: The Loretta Lynn Collection | others=Loretta Lynn |year=1994 |first=Jimmy |last=Guterman |author-link=Jimmy Guterman |page=12 |type=booklet |publisher=MCA Records}}
"You're Lookin' At Country" is about Lynn describing how "Country" she is by saying she loves running through corn fields and singing a country hymn. She summarises herself by singing, if you're lookin' at me, you're lookin' at country. The song received a very positive response from listeners, and is one of Lynn's signature songs.
Lynn performed the song when she served as guest host in 1978 on Season 3, Episode 3.08 of "The Muppet Show". In the 1980 motion picture biography of Lynn, Coal Miner's Daughter, Sissy Spacek (who plays Loretta) sings "You're Lookin' At Country" during a concert twice in the film. Spacek sang Lynn's hits herself, and later won her an Academy Award for doing so.
Carrie Underwood covered the song as part of the Loretta Lynn tribute album, Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn.{{cite news|last1=Rosen|first1=Jody|title=Loretta Lynn & Friends: Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/coal-miners-daughter-a-tribute-to-loretta-lynn-20101108|access-date=13 January 2018|publisher=Rolling Stone|date=8 November 2010}} The album was released on November 9, 2010.
Lynn performed the song at the 2014 Country Music Association Awards along with fellow country singer Kacey Musgraves.{{cite news|last1=Yahr|first1=Emily|title=2014 CMA Awards: Complete list of winners, best and worst moments|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/11/05/2014-cma-awards-luke-bryan-miranda-lambert-win-big-plus-list-of-winners-and-highlights/|access-date=13 January 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=5 November 2014}}
Chart performance
Decca Records released Lynn's song in May 1971. "You're Lookin' At Country" peaked at No. 5 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart{{cite book|last1=Whitburn|first1=Joel|title=Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs 1944 to 2005|date=2005|publisher=Record Research|location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin|isbn=0-89820-165-9|page=227}} in mid-1971, and an album of the same name was released. The album and the single sold fairly well. Only one single was released from the album, which was common for the time.
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1971) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Canadacountry|1|chartid=7588}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|5|artist=Loretta Lynn|song=You're Lookin' at Country}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Loretta Lynn singles}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:You're Lookin' At Country}}
Category:Carrie Underwood songs
Category:Songs written by Loretta Lynn
Category:Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley