At the time this was released it was branded controversial, many men openly hated the song for purely domineering reasons, and DJs often refused to play it. There was enough of a groundswell of backing though to make it a hit in spite of the hubbub.

I’m sure this gets more critical credit than it deserves because of feminist apologists who somehow believe that the availability of contraception means that a woman’s life is better because children are somehow a “burden”.

This song laments, justly, “All these years I’ve stayed at home while you had all your fun/And every years that’s gone by another baby’s come” to a cheating hubby. However, the way the song is written it makes it seem as though the continual children are the problem instead of hubby’s philandering. (“This chicken’s done for up her nest and ready to make a deal/And you can’t afford to turn it down cause you know I’ve got the pill”) What Loretta needed to do was tell the cheater to do right or hit the highway.

Contraception is family PLANNING not family “fixing”. It’s clear Lynn’s marriage is in name only here and that’s what the “chicken” needs to tear up.