"I know what it's like to be pregnant and nervous and poor"
About this Quote
The intent is both defensive and generous. Defensive, because Lynn spent her career being underestimated as a “coal miner’s daughter,” a woman assumed to be lucky to have made it out. This sentence makes clear she didn’t simply escape; she remembers the texture of what she escaped from. Generous, because it’s also a hand extended to listeners who recognize that texture. In country music, authenticity is currency, but Lynn’s authenticity isn’t aesthetic. It’s logistical: bills, timing, dependence, the social scrutiny attached to a pregnant body, especially when you can’t buy privacy.
The subtext is feminist without adopting a manifesto voice. Pregnancy is often treated as sentimental destiny; Lynn frames it as vulnerability intensified by economics. “Nervous” is the tell: not romantic anticipation, but the anxiety of a life where one missed paycheck can reorganize your future. In the context of her songs about birth control, marriage, and working-class women’s choices, the line reads like a warning shot to anyone tempted to moralize. She’s been there, and that lived fact is the argument.
Quote Details
| Topic | New Mom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lynn, Loretta. (2026, January 17). I know what it's like to be pregnant and nervous and poor. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-know-what-its-like-to-be-pregnant-and-nervous-69217/
Chicago Style
Lynn, Loretta. "I know what it's like to be pregnant and nervous and poor." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-know-what-its-like-to-be-pregnant-and-nervous-69217/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I know what it's like to be pregnant and nervous and poor." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-know-what-its-like-to-be-pregnant-and-nervous-69217/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.







