"Fist City" is a country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 song written and performed by Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...

, released in 1968. Inspired by her husband's dalliances with other women who pursued him while she was busy touring, Lynn wrote the song as a warning for other women to stay away from him if they do not wish to be soundly beaten. It is one of several songs that got Lynn banned from the radio in the 1960s for her controversial themes.

Composition and reception

Lynn wrote "Fist City" in response to a woman who began pursuing her husband, Doolittle, while Lynn was frequently touring in Tennessee. The Lynns' marriage was often tumultuous; he threw her out of the house early in the relationship, ostensibly for her bad cooking. Lynn found out, however, that he was seeing a woman with whom he had been previously involved and blamed Lynn for driving him away. Lynn wrote a letter to the other woman, who promptly showed it to Doolittle, who confronted Lynn, telling her to stay out of his business and that any love he had for her was gone. Lynn wrote that his statement broke her heart, and the experience eventually led her to write "Fist City" and the similar "You Ain't Woman Enough

You Ain't Woman Enough

You Ain't Woman Enough is a 1966 studio album by American country music singer-songwriter, Loretta Lynn.The album was Lynn's second studio album released in 1966. The lead single, "You Ain't Woman Enough" became Lynn's biggest hit up to that point peaking at #2. The flip side of the single, "A Man...

".

Admitting that she was tenaciously jealous and Doolittle sometimes did not spurn the advances of other women, Lynn penned the song as a warning, later reflecting in her 2001 autobiography, "I've been in a couple of fights in my life. I fight like a woman. I scratch and kick and bite and punch. Women are much meaner than men. So I warned any girl making eyes at Doo then, and I'm still jealous enough to warn 'em today—if you see this cute little old boy near me wearing his cowboy hat, you'd better walk a circle around us if you don't want to go to Fist City."

"Fist City" became Lynn's second number 1 hit in early 1968. Released under Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

, and produced by Owen Bradley

Owen Bradley

Owen Bradley was an American record producer who, along with Chet Atkins and Bob Ferguson, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly.-Before the fame:...

, "Fist City" was recorded in late 1967, but not released until early 1968. An album of the same name was also released that was as successful as the single. "Fist City" was the second of 16 number 1 country hits Lynn has had during the course of her career, following "Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)

Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)

"Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' " is a country music song, made famous by Country music singer Loretta Lynn in early 1967...

" in early 1967.

Nathan Rabin at The A.V. Club

The A.V. Club

The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...

writes that “Fist City” is the "single greatest song title of all time", justifying the designation by stating,

Lynn grappled with the most important social issues facing our nation, but she did not hesitate to beat a bitch down when the situation called for it. In song and life, Lynn could be a fierce lioness when it came to fighting for her man. As chronicled in Coal Miner’s Daughter, she had her hands full trying to tame a hard-drinking womanizer who felt threatened by his wife’s incredible success. On “Fist City,” for example, Lynn deliciously taunts a silly little thing whose interest in Lynn’s husband is destined to earn her a one-way invitation to a beatdown.

Chart performance

Chart (1968)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1