Tonight’s song is about work: getting up, going to the office, working from nine to five for a boss who doesn’t appreciate you. And it’s full of energy and fun.
Learn from Songs · Specials: Work · A2–B1
9 to 5
Dolly Parton’s famous song about office work, written for a film: the present simple for routines (I get up, I go to work), time expressions (from nine to five, at, on, in), adverbs of frequency, and work vocabulary, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Fun? Work?
SOPHIA
Dolly Parton can make anything fun. Listen to the clicking sound at the start: she made it with her long fingernails, like a typewriter.
DEMETRIA
Dolly Parton again! She’s my favourite.
Before you listen: the song
Los Angeles, 1980
In 1980, Dolly Parton acted in her first film, 9 to 5, a comedy with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin about three office workers who get revenge on their unfair boss. Dolly also wrote the title song.
On the film set, she tapped her long acrylic fingernails together to make a rhythm like a typewriter, and that sound is on the record. “9 to 5” went to number one in America, won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for an Oscar. It became a song for working people everywhere.
In the song, the singer gets up, pours a cup of coffee and goes to work. She works hard every day, but the boss takes the credit. One day, she dreams, things will change.
Every worker deserves respect.
Listen: the working day
PHILO
Listen once. What does she do in the morning? How does she feel about her job?
SOPHIA
Listen for the typewriter sound. Then answer Section A.
⌨️ Listen to the song: “9 to 5” (Dolly Parton, 1980), sung by Dolly Parton.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “9 to 5”, Dolly Parton.Read the lyrics →
Present simple for routines
MARCOS
I get up at six. I go to work. She works from nine to five. He doesn’t pay us enough.
SOPHIA
present simple for routines and habits. Remember -s with he / she / it: she works, he goes, it finishes. Negatives: don’t / doesn’t + infinitive.
Time expressions
DEMETRIA
from nine to five; at six o’clock; on Monday; in the morning; at night; at the weekend.
SOPHIA
at + times, night, the weekend (British); on + days and dates; in + months, years, parts of the day (in the evening). from… to / until for a period.
Adverbs of frequency
PHILO
She always works late. The boss never says thank you. They sometimes have a break. He’s often rude.
SOPHIA
always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never go before the main verb but after be: She always works. He is often rude.
Work vocabulary
MARCOS
boss, colleague, wage / salary, promotion, overtime, a day off, to be fired, to quit.
SOPHIA
wage = paid by the hour or week; salary = paid by the month or year. overtime = extra hours. get a promotion = a better job. be fired = lose your job; quit = leave your job.
Sophia’s comparison: the wages of the worker
PHILO
The Law says: do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Pay him the same day, before sunset, because he is poor and he is counting on it.
SOPHIA
And Hesiod, who was a farmer, said that work is no shame; it is idleness that is shameful. But he also said a fair employer should agree the pay in advance, even with his own brother, with a smile and a witness.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | routines | She works from nine to five. |
| at / on / in | time prepositions | at six, on Monday, in the morning |
| from… to / until | a period | from nine to five |
| always, often, never… | adverbs of frequency | He never says thank you. |
| wage, salary, overtime, promotion | work vocabulary | She got a promotion. |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What is the song about?
2. What made the typewriter sound?
3. What was the song written for?
4. Who were the other stars of the film?
5. What does the boss do, according to the song?
6. Which prize was it nominated for?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. She from nine to five. (work)
8. I get up six o’clock.
9. We don’t work Sundays.
10. The boss says thank you. (not ever)
11. He worked three hours of last night. (extra hours)
12. She got a and a better office.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “She work from nine to five.”
14. “I always have coffee in the morning.”
15. “He is never late.”
16. “We meet in Monday.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
My day. Describe your daily routine to a partner with times and adverbs of frequency. Then describe the routine of a parent or a worker you know.
Discuss. 1. What makes a good boss? 2. Would you prefer to work nine to five or have your own business? 3. Why do so many songs complain about work?
Write (100–120 words). A day in the life of… Describe a worker’s day (a baker, a nurse, a farmer). Use the present simple, time expressions and four work words.
Now play the gamebook: the copyists of the Library, and a fair day’s pay.Play the gamebook →