“9 to 5” – Single by Dolly Parton from the album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs
B-side: “Sing for the Common Man”
Released: November 3, 1980
Label: RCA Nashville
Songwriter: Dolly Parton
Producer: Gregg Perry
Charted No.1 in US, No.47 in UK
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.
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.
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.
Official music video for ”9 To 5” by Dolly Parton
Lyrics:
Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living
Barely gettin’ 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
9 to 5, for service and devotion
You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion
Want to move ahead but the boss won’t seem to let me
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me
Mmmmm…
