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Cover of Punch the Clock by Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Cover: Punch the Clock

Song · Elvis Costello & the Attractions

“Everyday I Write The Book” by Elvis Costello & the Attractions

From the album Punch the Clock (1983)

“Everyday I Write The Book” by Elvis Costello & the Attractions appears on 50 radio countdowns from 18 stations between 1983 and 2026. It was first released in 1983 on the album Punch the Clock. Its best result is #34 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #44 alternative song of 1983, #436 alternative song of all time and #298 of the '80s.

50countdowns
18stations
#34best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1983–2026years charted

Watch

Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Everyday I Write The Book

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"Everyday I Write the Book" came off Punch the Clock, the 1983 album from Elvis Costello and the Attractions, and it gave them something they'd never had before: a top-40 hit in America, where it peaked at 36 on the Hot 100, while it reached 28 at home in Britain. Costello later said he dashed it off in ten minutes, setting himself the challenge of taking a simple, formula song and making it mean something. It started life as a Merseybeat pastiche, went through a lovers-rock arrangement he didn't like, and finally found the loping groove it has now.

Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley produced it, Steve Nieve, Bruce Thomas and Pete Thomas keep it light on its feet, and Afrodiziak sweeten the backing vocals. Costello also nodded to Nick Lowe, whose "When I Write the Book" gave him the cue. He admitted he cared less about this one than anything else he wrote then, and it's the one everybody loved.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1983 34 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 107
1983 68 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 165 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 120 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1989 120 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 326 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 311 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1991 308 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 909 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1994 441 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 223 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 433 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 438 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 83 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 414 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 449 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 480 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 266 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 895 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 259 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 781 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 133 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 832 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 832 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1921 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 832 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 758 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 832 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 266 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 832 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 833 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 205 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 583 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 148 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 150 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 658 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 166 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 177 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 187 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 190 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 677 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 906 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2019 579 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 579 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 1668 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 199 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2023 437 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 160 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2024 380 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2026 1117 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Every Day I Write the Book; Everyday I Write the Book; Every Day I Write The Book.

Charting alongside it in 1983

Best songs of 1983 →
  1. 1New Year's DayU2
  2. 2Let's DanceDavid Bowie
  3. 3The LovecatsThe Cure
  4. 4Every Breath You TakeThe Police
  5. 5Rebel YellBilly Idol
  6. 6In a Big CountryBig Country

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