"The Pill" is a 1975

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 recorded by

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

. It is one of her best known songs as well as the most controversial record of her career. It is about the freedom a woman receives from

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

pills. The song briefly crossed over into mainstream success peaking at #70 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 becoming the highest-charting song on the pop chart in Lynn's solo career. The background vocalists on the record are by

the Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...

. Despite having the same name and similar themes, it is not related to "The Pill", written by Scottish folk musician Matthew McGinn and performed in the United States by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

About the song

"The Pill", written by Lorene Allen, Don McHan, T. D. Bayless, and Loretta Lynn, is a comic-tinged song about

. The song tells a story of a wife who is upset about her husband getting her pregnant year after year, but is now happy because she can control her own reproductive choices because she has "

the pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. The pill contains two important hormones: proges ...

" (which had been introduced in 1960). The song, like many of Lynn's other hits, suggested her personal life: she'd had six children, four of whom were born before she was 20. (After a protracted legal battle over the publishing rights to her songs, it has become widely known that Lynn did, in fact, co-write this song.) The song's frank discussion of birth control, something that was considered risqué subject matter at the time (especially in country music), led to a number of country radio stations refusing to play it. The song received much publicity and airplay on the stations that would air it, but its ban from a number of radio stations caused the record to stall at number five on the charts at a time when a Loretta Lynn record was almost guaranteed to be a top three hit, often a number one record. Nevertheless, it earned her more press and attention outside the country market than anything she had ever recorded before and ultimately became her highest-charting pop single, peaking at #70 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The single did go #1 in Canada. Recorded in 1972 and held back by her label, the song was finally released in 1975, Lynn's first single that year. The single was released on her 1975 album ''Back to Country'' and was the only single released from the album.

Influence of song

In an interview for''

Playgirl ''Playgirl'' was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although i ...

'', Lynn recounted how she had been congratulated after the song's success by a number of rural physicians, telling her how "The Pill" had done more to highlight the availability of birth control in isolated, rural areas, than all the literature they had released. It was a rare liberal stand on Lynn's part, who otherwise was a socially conservative Christian and tended to avoid overt sociopolitical stances in her music when she could.

Other recordings

Jill Johnson Jill Anna Maria Johnson (born 24 May 1973) is a Swedish country and pop singer, songwriter and TV-host. She performed in the Melodifestivalen 1998 contest, winning with the song "Kärleken är" ("Love Is"), and represented Sweden at the Eurovis ...

and

Lisa Nilsson My Lisa Karolina Nilsson (born 13 August 1970) is a Swedish singer. She was discovered by the producer William (Billy) Butt and she is perhaps best known in Sweden for her 1992 hit, '' Himlen runt hörnet'', written by Mauro Scocco and Johan ...

recorded the song on the 2017 album '' Jills veranda Nashville : livemusiken från säsong 3''.

Chart performance

Year-end Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pill (song), The 1975 singles Loretta Lynn songs Hormonal contraception Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Loretta Lynn Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley MCA Records singles 1975 songs Jill Johnson songs Lisa Nilsson songs Obscenity controversies in music