Dolly Parton kicked off the 80s with one of her worst-received albums. Titled Dolly Dolly Dolly, it was another slickly produced country pop album, and the first in her career to not include a single one of her own compositions.
The slump wouldn’t last long. Dolly Dolly Dolly came out in April of 1980, and in November of the same year she dropped one of her most successful releases yet. The awkwardly titled 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs was timed to capitalize on the December release of 9 to 5, a workplace comedy starring Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin.
Both the movie and the album — especially the title song — were big hits. ‘9 to 5’ reached #1 on the pop, country, and Adult Contemporary charts, giving Parton a rare triple crown.
9 to 5 and Odd Jobs is a concept album about work of all kinds, combining traditional songs with new compositions. Dolly delivers a version of ‘The House of the Rising Sun,’ restoring the original lyrics that depict the life of a woman in a brothel. She covers Woody Guthrie’s ‘Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos),’ which chronicles the mistreatment of migrant workers in 1940s California.
Parton’s own ‘Working Girl’ paints a portrait of a wife and mother who also holds a demanding job (still a novel concept in 1980). Closing track ‘Poor Folks’ Town,’ also by Dolly, is about hard-working people who are rich in love.
‘But You Know I Love You,’ a cover of a song popularlized by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition in 1969, gave Dolly another minor hit (she would record a major hit with Rogers, ‘Islands in the Stream,’ a few years later).
After several albums that strained to fit onto the pop charts, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs is a refreshing return to Parton’s early 70s form.
Tumble out of 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 pumpin’
Out on the street, the traffic starts jumpin’
With folks like me on the job from 9 to 5
[Chorus]
Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’
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, mm
[Verse 2]
They let you dream just to watch ’em shatter
You’re just a step on the bossman’s ladder
But you’ve got dreams he’ll never take away
In the same boat with a lot of your friends
Waitin’ for the day your ship’ll come in
And the tide’s gonna turn and it’s all gonna roll your way
[Chorus]
Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just use your mind and you never get the credit
It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it
9 to 5, yeah, they got you where they want you
There’s a better life and you think about it, don’t you?
It’s a rich man’s game no matter what they call it
And you spend your life puttin’ money in his wallet
9 to 5, oh, what a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’
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, yeah, they got you where they want you
There’s a better life and you think about it, don’t you?
It’s a rich man’s game no matter what they call it
And you spend your life puttin’ money in his wallet
9 to 5…
