[5] Commenting on the record to Tom Roland in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits, Harlan Howard said, "I've never written a song that moves people so much.
"[6] When playing the J. J. Barrie version on Capital Radio's Top 40 programme, London DJ Roger Scott introduced the song as a "comedy record", and feigned uncontrollable laughter at the end, picking up on the lines "For advice and the knowledge / and the cost of your college".
Enlightened, the young boy realizes that his mother is right and changes the amount due to "paid in full" (once again, narrated) before the singer sings the moral.
Fellow country singers Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette recorded versions of the song in the 1970s.
It has also been a popular Christian song through the years, most famously performed by Shirley Caesar, who added to the moral by recalling Jesus' sacrifice for humanity.
Billy Connolly recorded a parody of the song in 1976 called "No Chance (No Charge)",[18] which had a reference to domestic violence.