"Take This Job and Shove It" is a 1977

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

song written by

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

and popularized by

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greates ...

, about the bitterness of a man who has worked long and hard with no apparent reward. The song was first recorded by Paycheck on his album also titled ''

Take This Job and Shove It "Take This Job and Shove It" is a 1977 country music song written by David Allan Coe and popularized by Johnny Paycheck, about the bitterness of a man who has worked long and hard with no apparent reward. The song was first recorded by Paycheck o ...

''. The recording hit number one on the country charts for two weeks, spending 18 weeks on the charts. It was Paycheck's only #1 hit. Its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "Colorado Kool-Aid," spent ten weeks on the same chart and peaked at #50. Coe's recording was released in 1978 on his album '' Family Album''. Coe also recorded a variation of the song called "Take This Job and Shove It Too" on his 1980 album "I've Got Something To Say". It included the double-meaning line "Paycheck, you may be a thing of the past." Coe was annoyed that people assumed that Paycheck had written the song. (Though the single released by Paycheck, and subsequent album, both correctly credit Coe as the song's composer.) The song inspired a 1981 film of the same name. A cover version also appears on ''

Bedtime for Democracy ''Bedtime for Democracy'' is the fourth and final studio album by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Released in 1986, songs on this album cover common punk subjects often found in punk rock lyrics of the era such as Conformity (psychology), ...

'' by

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

. Another cover version, "Shove This Jay-Oh-Bee", performed by

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American rapper and actor. He initially gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and eventually released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998 ...

with

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...

, appears in the film ''

Office Space ''Office Space'' is a 1999 American black comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes the worklife of a typical 1990s software company, focusing on a handful of individuals weary of their jobs. It stars Ron Livingston, Jennifer ...

''.

Chuck Barris Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting ''The Gong Show'' and creating ''The Dating Game'' and ''The Newlywed Game''. He was also a songwrite ...

and the Hollywood Cowboys performed a modified version of the piece as Barris's swan song when ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...

'' was kicked off

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in 1978.

Phrase

"Take this job and shove it" became a popular phrase as a result of the song. It also became a

snowclone A snowclone is a cliché and phrasal template that can be used and recognized in multiple variants. The term was coined as a neologism in 2004, derived from journalistic clichés that referred to the number of Inuit words for snow. History and ...

phrase, leading to a variety of book and article titles of the form, "Take this job and ... it". The most notable is "Take this job and love it", which has been the title of dozens of books, mostly about career counseling, as well as the title of a 2007 episode of the television series ''

Hannah Montana ''Hannah Montana'' is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March2006 and January2011. The series centers on Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), a ...

''. Another notable variation was the 2006 book ''Take This Job and Ship It'' by U.S. Senator

Byron Dorgan Byron Leslie Dorgan (born May 14, 1942) is an American author, businessman and former politician who served as a United States Representative (1981–1992) and United States Senator (1992–2011) from North Dakota. He is member of the Democratic ...

. Another variation is the quote "take this job and fill it" from the ''

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

'' episode, "

Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 95th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 1994. Li ...

". (Another related snowclone is "take this ... and shove it," for any unpleasant or low-quality item.)

Chart performance

References

1977 singles Johnny Paycheck songs David Allan Coe songs Song recordings produced by Billy Sherrill Criticism of work Termination of employment in popular culture Songs about labor Epic Records singles Songs written by David Allan Coe 1977 songs Biz Markie songs Canibus songs {{1970s-country-song-stub