“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is a popular American poem verse from the 1830s. The verse has many joke endings that replace “try, try again.”
 
“If at first you don’t succeed, call dad” has been printed on many images. ” if at first you don’t succeed, call dad and find another flight to Vegas” was posted on Twitter by Nader Nassar on March 12, 2011. “If at first you don’t succeed, call Dad. http://pinterest.com/pin/523754631637388929/” was posted on Twitter by Rost Jewelers on June 10, 2014. “If at first you don’t succeed, call DAD!  We hope all of our dad’s have a very Happy Father’s Day!” was posted on Twitter by Pegasus Residential on June 15, 2014.
       
American film comedian W. C. Fields (1880-1946) is attributed with this take on the saying: “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. Then quit. There’s no use being a damn fool about it.”  Other variations include “If at first you don’t succeed, call it version 1.0,” “If at first you don’t succeed, drink whiskey. You’ll be amazed how little you care,” “If at first you don’t succeed, you’re running about average,” “If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried,” “If at first you don’t succeed, pay someone else to do it for you,” “If at first you don’t succeed, redefine success,” “If at first you don’t succeed, try management,” “If at first you don’t succeed, try two more times so your failure is statistically significant,” “If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving isn’t for you,” “If at first you don’t succeed, try left field” (baseball adage), “If at first you don’t succeed, we have a lot in common” and “Cooking Rule: If at first you don’t succeed, order pizza.”
     
     
The Yale Book of Quotations
Edited by Fred. R. Shapiro
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
2006
Pg. 578:
Thomas H.Palmer
U.S. author, 1782-1861
“‘Tis a lesson you should heed,
Try, try again;
If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try again.”
Quoted in The Village Reader (1840). The identical words, except with “try, try again,” appear in a poem titled “Perseverance; or, Try Again,” printed in Common School Assistant, Aug. 1838. No author is identified.“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is a popular American poem verse from the 1830s. The verse has many joke endings that replace “try, try again.”
       
Twitter 
Nader Nassar
@nader_nassar
@tcooke12 if at first you don’t succeed, call dad and find another flight to Vegas. #SB11FAIL #doyouknowwhoiam?
9:23 AM · Mar 12, 2011
   
Twitter
Rost Jewelers
@RostJewelers
If at first you don’t succeed, call Dad. http://pinterest.com/pin/523754631637388929/
3:59 PM · Jun 10, 2014
   
Twitter
Pegasus Residential
@PegasusResident
If at first you don’t succeed, call DAD!  We hope all of our dad’s have a very Happy Father’s Day! http://fb.me/6ToAQjLoO
3:33 PM · Jun 15, 2014
   
Twitter
Miranda M.
@girlwparasol
“If at first you don’t succeed, call dad.” GODDAMMIT, PINTEREST, NO.
12:52 PM · Nov 29, 2014
   
Twitter
Cat Rose
@catheriiiinnee
If at first you don’t succeed..Call dad. 📱
3:38 PM · Dec 2, 2014
   
Twitter
Wamp Designs
@wampdesigns
If At First You Don’t Succeed ... Call Dad by WampDesigns http://etsy.me/1AvYVFY via @Etsy
10:37 AM · May 28, 2015
   
Twitter
Kynlee Crenshaw
@kynleecrenshaw
If at first you don’t succeed, call dad. #HappyFathersDay 😏
12:24 PM · Jun 21, 2015
   
Twitter
Melissa
@melimay_scott
If at first you don’t succeed, call Dad 😘 #HappyFathersDay
2:50 PM · Jun 21, 2015
   
Twitter
Eileen Kwan
@YogaMom8
If at first you don’t succeed call dad. So true of all kids! #FathersDay #dads #momlife #life
9The saying is also shown on a chalkboard.—ed.)
10:40 AM · Jun 19, 2016
 
Google Books
If at First You Don’t Succeed Call Dad - Notebook, to Do and Doodles
A Beautiful Notebook Gift Dad Will Love - Featuring Notes, Focus, to Do and Doodles
By Johnny Bowers · 2019
   
Elite Daily
27 Captions For Father’s Day 2019 To Celebrate The Coolest Guy In Your Life
by KRISTIN CORPUZ
JUNE 13, 2019
(...)
18. “If at first you don’t succeed, call Dad.”
 
Facebook
El Arroyo is at El Arroyo.
June 18, 2023 at 12:59 PM · Austin, TX ·
Happy Father’s Day to the guy who does it all!
(The following text is shown on the restaurant’s sign.—ed.)
IF AT FIRST
YOU DON’T
SUCCEED,
CALL DAD