9 to 5

The song opens with a percussive, clicking rhythm that imitates the sound of a typewriter, immediately setting a workday scene before a single word is sung. A steady, driving beat carries through the whole song, evoking the punch-clock routine the lyrics describe. The vocalist enters with a quick, syllable-packed verse describing the grind of getting up and going to work, delivered in a rhythmic, almost spoken-sung style. The tune opens out into a broad, singable chorus on the title phrase, "working nine to five," which is the moment audiences wait for and often sing along with. Between verses, the orchestra takes over the clicking rhythmic figure, now scored for full ensemble, giving the accompaniment a bright, workmanlike energy. Successive verses add new complaints about office life, but the music keeps returning to that same catchy chorus, now often with added instrumental color, horns punctuating the phrases. In an orchestral pops arrangement, expect the strings to take over the countermelodies originally played on guitar, and the brass to underline the chorus with extra punch. The piece stays close to its original pop-song shape throughout, verse and chorus alternating, with no lengthy instrumental development section, so first-time listeners will find the structure easy to follow from the first hearing.

Dolly Parton wrote "9 to 5" for the 1980 film of the same name, in which she starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as office workers who rebel against an unfair boss. Parton wrote the song on set, reportedly tapping out its rhythm on her acrylic fingernails to invent the tune's signature clicking sound. Released as a single in 1980, it topped both the pop and country charts and earned Parton an Academy Award nomination for best original song. It has since become one of her most enduring hits, arranged many times for orchestra and voice in pops concert programs, where it is typically sung by a guest vocalist backed by the full ensemble as a crowd-pleasing highlight.