BPour myself a cup of ambition
And F#yawn and stretch and try to come to lifC#e
F#Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumpin’
BOut on the street the traffic starts jumpin’
The F#folks like me on the C#job from F#nine to five
CHORUS 1:
Workin’ Bnine to five, what a way to make a living
Barely F#gettin’ by it’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just Buse your mind and then they never give you credit
It’s G#enough to drive you C#crazy if you let it
BNine to five, for service and devotion
You would F#think that I would deserve a fair promotion
Want to Bmove ahead but the boss won’t seem to let me
I G#swear sometimes that man is C#out to get me

F#
VERSE 2:
F#They let you dream just to watch ’em shatter
You’re Bjust a step on the boss-man’s ladder
But F#you got dreams he’ll never take awaC#y
F#You’re in the same boat with a lotta your friends
BWaitin’ for the day your ship’ll come in
Then the F#tide’s gonna turn and it’s C#all gonna roll F#your way
CHORUS 2:
Workin’ Bnine to five, what a way to make a living
Barely F#gettin’ by it’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just Buse your mind and then they never give you credit
It’s G#enough to drive you C#crazy if you let it
BNine to five, yeah, they got you where they want you
There’s a F#better life and you think about it, don’t you
It’s a Brich man’s game no matter what they call it
And you G#spend your life puttin’ C#money in his wallet.BNine to five, whoa, what a way to make a livin’

Barely F#gettin’ by it’s all takin’ and no givin’

They just Buse your mind and then they never give you credit

It’s G#enough to drive you C#crazy if you let it

BNine to five, yeah, they got you where they want you

There’s a F#better life and you dream about it, don’t you

It’s a Brich man’s game no matter what they call it

Check out more ukulele songs here.

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“9 to 5” History:

“9 to 5” is one of Dolly Parton’s most fascinating songs, because the music sounds almost irresistibly cheerful while the subject is frustration, exploitation, and the grind of working life. That contrast is a big part of its brilliance.

🎵 The basic story

“9 to 5” was written and recorded by Dolly Parton in 1980 as the theme song for the movie 9 to 5, starring Dolly alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

The single was released in November 1980, shortly before the film. It became Dolly’s first #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as reaching #1 on the country chart. The Library of Congress also records that the song reached #1 on both country and pop charts.

And here’s the remarkable part: Dolly wrote the song herself.

The typewriter sound

This is one of my favorite stories about the song.

While filming the movie, Dolly had those famous long acrylic fingernails. She discovered that by clicking them together, she could make a sound remarkably like a typewriter.

So she started tapping her nails rhythmically and developed the basic rhythm of the song right there on the movie set.

In other words, that instantly recognizable:

click-click-click-click…

isn’t really a typewriter at all.

It’s Dolly Parton’s fingernails.

And musically, that’s clever as hell because the sound itself becomes part of the story: the machinery of the working day becomes the percussion.

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🕘 What is the song actually about?

The lyrics describe the repetitive working life of an ordinary employee:

working all day
making somebody else rich
being underappreciated
and dreaming about having some control over your own life.

But Dolly doesn’t sing it as a dark protest song.

That’s the genius.

She gives it this bright, bouncy, almost celebratory groove.

There’s an enormous irony in it:

The worker is miserable, but the song is having a hell of a good time.

That’s why it became much bigger than simply a movie theme.

The film itself was about three female office workers who become increasingly frustrated with their sexist and exploitative boss. The title also connected with the real-world 9to5 organization, founded in 1973 to advocate for fair pay and equal treatment for women in the workplace.

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🎸 And listen to the arrangement

Since I know you listen to music from the player/musician side, rather than just the song itself, there’s something particularly interesting here.

This isn’t simply “country music.”

It’s a country/pop crossover arrangement with:

• country vocal phrasing
• pop songwriting
• prominent keyboards
• horns
• strings
• rhythm section
• the typewriter percussion
• and a very tight, almost mechanical rhythmic feel.

Billboard’s contemporary review specifically noted the frenetic keyboard-and-horn opening and the typewriter sounds reinforcing the work-grind concept.

And Dolly’s vocal is interesting because she doesn’t oversell it.

She has that characteristic Dolly brightness and twang, but she’s delivering lines about frustration almost conversationally.

That’s part of why the record feels so human.

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🏆 What it accomplished

The song was enormous.

Chart achievements:

• #1 Billboard Hot 100
• #1 Billboard Country
• #1 Adult Contemporary
• #1 Dance Club Songs
• #1 in several Canadian charts
• Dolly’s first Billboard Hot 100 #1 as a solo artist.

Then came the awards.

At the 24th Grammy Awards, “9 to 5” won:

• Best Country Song
• Best Country Vocal Performance, Female

It was also nominated for Song of the Year and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

So this little song about going to work every day ended up becoming one of Dolly’s signature recordings.

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🎬 And there’s another fascinating connection

The song and the movie are almost inseparable.

Dolly’s movie debut was 9 to 5, and the song became the musical identity of the film.

That film eventually led to:

movie → television series → Broadway musical

And Dolly later wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical adaptation as well.

So “9 to 5” wasn’t just a hit single.

It became a cultural phrase.

When somebody says:

“I’m working nine to five.”

we immediately understand what they’re talking about.

That’s pretty powerful songwriting.

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🎼 But here’s what is REALLY interesting

Dolly took something incredibly ordinary—

going to work.

And turned it into a song with a very strong physical rhythm.

Think about the opening:

typewriter → keyboard → rhythm → groove → vocal

The entire record feels like a machine starting up.

And then Dolly’s voice sits on top of that machine like a human being saying:

“Yeah, I’m inside this machine… but I’m still me.”

That’s very Dolly.

And it connects beautifully with something you’ve said to me before about music: the human being behind the sound.

The production is extremely tight and polished, but you never lose Dolly.

That’s one reason the record has lasted for more than four decades.

And there’s one more little piece of Dolly magic: the song sounds happy without actually being a happy song.

That’s a very sophisticated songwriting trick.