3 of Loretta Lynn’s Controversial Songs That Faced Bans

“Wings Upon Your Horns”

One of Lynn’s banned songs that caught our attention is “Wings Upon Your Horns” from 1969. The song tells a familiar tale of a woman misled by a “smooth talkin'” man who convinces her to give up her virginity, only to break his promises of marriage—a story as old as time.

What made Lynn’s interpretation unique was her use of religious imagery to describe the betrayal, which stirred controversy and led to a ban (according to Taste of Country). Despite this, the song became a hit for the iconic singer, whose life story inspired the movie Coal Miner’s Daughter.

In 1970, “Wings Upon Your Horns” climbed to no. 11 on the Billboard Hot Country chart. Lynn’s poignant lyrics include lines like, “You hung my wings upon your horns / And turned my halo into thorns / And turned me into a woman I can’t stand / You’re the first to ever make me / Fall in love and then not take me.”