Take This Job and Shove It

This article is about the song. For the film, see Take This Job and Shove It (film). For the album, see Take This Job and Shove It (album).

"Take This Job and Shove It"
Single by Johnny Paycheck
from the album Take This Job and Shove It
B-side	"Colorado Kool-Aid"
Released	October 1977
Format	7" single
Recorded	August 24, 1977
Genre	Country
Length	2:35
Label	Epic 50469
Writer(s)	David Allan Coe
Producer(s)	Billy Sherrill
Johnny Paycheck singles chronology
"I'm the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)" (1977) "Take This Job and Shove It'" (1977) "Georgia in a Jug" (1978)

"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 on his album also titled Take This Job and Shove It. 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, "Colorado Kool-Aid," spent ten weeks on the same chart and peaked at #50.

Coe recorded a variation of the song called "Take This Job and Shove It Too" on his 1978 album Family Album. It included the double-meaning line "Paycheck you may be a thing of the past." Coe was annoyed that Paycheck allowed people to think he had written the song.

The song inspired a 1981 film by the same name.

A cover version also appears on Bedtime for Democracy by Dead Kennedys. Another cover version, "Shove This Jay-Oh-Bee", performed by Canibus with Biz Markie, appears in the film Office Space.

Phrase

"Take this job and shove it" became a popular phrase as a result of the song. It also became a snowclone 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. Another notable variation was the 2006 book Take This Job and Ship It by U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan.

Chart performance

Chart (1977–78)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Preceded by "Here You Come Again" by Dolly Parton	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single January 7-January 14, 1978	Succeeded by "What a Difference You've Made in My Life" by Ronnie Milsap
Preceded by "Sweet Music Man" by Kenny Rogers	RPM Country Tracks number-one single January 14, 1978	Succeeded by "My Way" by Elvis Presley