9 To 5

Album

Time Further Out (Miro Reflections)

Label

RCA Records Nashville

Genre

Stage & Screen

Composer(s)

Dolly Parton

Entered Chart

Nov 29, 1980

Peak Date

Feb 21, 1981

Released

November 3, 1980

Recorded

1980 Studio RCA Studios, Nashville

Catalog #

RCA 12133

B-Side

Sing For The Common Man

Parton wrote this for the 1980 film of the same name. The film, which was Parton's acting debut, stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Parton, and Dabney Coleman and deals with life in an American office, where the workday was 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. She wrote the song while the movie was filming. In a 2009 interview with 60 Minutes, Parton talked about the unlikely inspiration for this song: her fingernails. She had very long, acrylic nails, and discovered that when she rubbed them together she could create a rhythm that sounded like a typewriter, and since the movie was about secretaries, she was able to use that sound to compose the song on the set. She even played her fingernails as part of the percussion sound when she recorded the track. Both the film and the song "9 to 5" exposed gender inequity in the workplace. It was done for laughs, which was the only way it could reach a mass audience, but still made a strong statement, with three female leads taking on their stereotypically disparaging boss. The song has a jaunty tone that fits the movie, but the lyrics ring true for many women: They just use your mind and they never give you credit It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it Parton was more than qualified to write these lines, having conquered the male-dominated world of country music with extraordinary tact and ambition. "9 to 5" didn't start any kind of movement, but did push the issue forward. When the #metoo uprising took shape, it became a touchstone to measure progress - women were still earning considerably less than men and dealing with an often criminal level of disrespect. In 2018, punk rock forebears Alice Bag, Kathleen Hanna and Allison Wolfe teamed up to re-create scenes from the movie for the video to "77," a song that refers to women earning only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. This was a huge crossover hit for Parton, who expanded her audience to the world of mainstream pop. Years later, many country music artists, especially female singers like Faith Hill and Shania Twain, followed Parton's lead and made headway on the pop charts. At different points in the song, you can hear the sounds of some tapping followed by a bell. This was the sound of a typewriter, which was the tool of the trade for secretaries in 1980. The bell told the typist that she was nearing the end of the page and needed to return the carriage to the left and start a new line. Typewriters were eventually replaced with word processors and computers, making these sounds obsolete. Sheena Easton's #1 hit "Morning Train (Nine To Five)" was released as "9 to 5" outside of America. In the States, the title was changed to avoid confusion with Parton's song. This song won the 1981 Grammys for Best Country Song and Best Country Vocal Performance, Female; it also received a Grammy nomination for Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or Television Special and received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. It also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Song. >> This song got the Andy Samberg treatment in at 2010 episode of Saturday Night Live where in a digital short, they turned the song into "Stumblin'." The bit featured Samberg and Paul Rudd stumbling all over Manhattan to a reworked version of this song. Paul McCartney, who was the musical guest on the show, appears in the short doing a very random, tiny harmonica solo. The film 9 to 5 was turned into TV series that ran five seasons from 1982-1988. The song was used as the theme, initially with Phoebe Snow singing it, then replaced with Parton's version later on. The cast changed a lot throughout the run, with Jeffrey Tambor, Rita Moreno, Sally Struthers and Valerie Curtin among the participants. In 2009, the franchise was revived with a Broadway musical that opened and closed with ensemble renditions of the song. This production starred Allison Janney and Megan Hilty. Alison Krauss recorded this in 2003 for the tribute album Just Because I'm a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton. That same year, Krauss and Parton sang it together for Lifetime's fourth annual Women Rock concert. When Parton received the MusiCares Person Of The Year award at the 2019 Grammys, she performed this song to close out her set, joined on stage by Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves, Katy Perry, Linda Perry (no relation), Miley Cyrus and Maren Morris. Dolly Parton reworked this song as "5 to 9" for a Squarespace commercial that aired during the Super Bowl in 2021. The ad zooms in on folks who toil away at the office, then pursue their passion projects during off hours. A sample of the rejiggered lyrics: Working 5 to 9 making something of your own now And it feels so fine to build a business from your know-how Parton really did work as a secretary for a brief time when she first moved to Nashville in 1964. She answered phones at Northern Outdoor Sign, where thankfully her boss was nothing like Dabney Coleman's Franklin Hart, Jr. Dolly Parton and Kelly Clarkson released a reimagined version for the 2022 documentary Still Working 9 to 5. The documentary chronicles the lasting legacy of the 9 to 5 movie. It was Dolly Parton Enterprises' creative director Steve Summers who kickstarted the new spin. He had the idea of slowing down Parton's perky original, giving "9 to 5" a moodier sheen. The subdued production highlights Parton's lyrics about workplace equality. Summers recruited Nashville producer and songwriter Shane McAnally and songwriting power couple Sasha Alex Sloan and King Henry to create the somber treatment. "I was blown away when I heard what Shane had done with my song," said Parton to Rolling Stone. "This arrangement shows how differently a song can be done and the story can be told in a whole new way."

Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to life
Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumping
Out on the street the traffic's jumping
With folks like me on the job from 9 to 5 (mm, yeah)

Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living
Barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it (if you let it)

Working 9 to 5, for service and devotion
You would think that I would deserve a fat promotion
Want to move ahead but the boss won't seem to let me
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me (he's out to get me)

(9 to 5) 9 to 5
(9 to 5) working, working, working
(9 to 5)

They let you dream just to watch 'em shatter
You're just a step on the boss man's ladder
But you got dreams he'll never take away (he'll never take 'em away)
You're in the same boat with a lotta your friends
Waiting for the day your ship'll come in (mm)
And the tide's gonna turn and it's all gonna roll your way (I just know it)

Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living
Barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it (but you won't let it)

Working 9 to 5, yeah, they got you where they want you
There's a better life and you think about it, don't you? (You dream about it)
It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it
And you spend your life putting money in his wallet (putting money in his wallet)

Working 9 to 5, whoa what a way to make a living
Barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it (crazy if you let it)

Working 9 to 5, working 9 to 5
(You dream about it, don't you?)
It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it (mm)
And you spend your life putting money in his wallet (putting money in his wallet)

(9 to 5) just working, working, working
(9 to 5) just working, working, working
(9 to 5) and you think about it don't ya
(9 to 5) yeah, you think about it don't ya
(9 to 5)