9 to 5 (Sheena Easton song)

"9 to 5" (or "Morning Train") is a song by Scottish singer Sheena Easton from her 1981 album Take My Time. It was written by Florrie Palmer and recorded and released as a single in 1980, becoming Easton's biggest hit. It peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart in August 1980 and was certified gold.BPI – search Sheena Easton (Certification and UK release date) () In February 1981, it was released in the United States and Canada under the title "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton's recent hit "9 to 5". It reached number one in both countries, becoming Easton's only chart-topper in those nations.

Background

Easton had released one single prior to "9 to 5": "Modern Girl". This had failed to chart highly, but after exposure on the BBC documentary The Big Time: Pop Singer, both "9 to 5" and "Modern Girl" were propelled into the top ten at the same time, making her the fourth female artist (after Ruby Murray, Shirley Bassey, and Donna Summer) to achieve this feat. "9 to 5" became a top three UK hit and was one of the best-selling singles of the year.

Release and writing

Early in 1981, EMI Records decided to launch Easton in the US and released "9 to 5" as her debut single. Easton's song went to #1 on both the U.S. pop and adult contemporary charts; it remained at the top for two weeks on Billboards pop chart, becoming Easton's only chart-topper. On Billboard 1981 year-end charts, it came in as the twelfth-biggest pop and thirteenth-biggest AC hit of the year 1981. It topped the RPM magazine pop and AC charts in Canada, and also reached #1 in New Zealand.

The song is about a woman who waits at home all day for her man to come home from work. The music video was filmed on the Bluebell Railway, a heritage line running between East and West Sussex in England. The video stars London and South Western Railway No. 488, a preserved LSWR 0415 Class locomotive.

In popular culture The documentary John Peel's Record Box revealed that British radio DJ John Peel loved the record so much that he kept two copies of it in a small wooden box of his 142 favourite singles.

The song was featured twice in the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It first appeared in a scene from the season 8 episode "The Bizarro Jerry"', in a montage of Kramer's "work" experience. Its second appearance was in the season 9 episode "The Butter Shave", where George Costanza 'commutes' to work at Play Now.

In 2004, Easton recorded an advert for Australian Railway Company Connex Melbourne. It featured passengers singing the song in the train carriage, which pulls up to Burnley railway station, where Easton boarded the train.

The song also appears in the 2004 teen comedy EuroTrip. Two of the film's protagonists played by Scott Mechlowicz and Jacob Pitts enter a fictional British pub called the Fiesty (sic) Goat in London, unaware that it is a private Manchester United football supporters' bar. They are forced to sing the song when confronted by a group of football hooligans and their leader, performed by Vinnie Jones. The original song is also played during the scene.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1980–1981)PeakpositionArgentina4Australia (Kent Music Report)1Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)1France (IFOP)4Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)7South Africa (Springbok Radio)11Spain (AFYVE) 21UK Singles (OCC)3US Radio & Records CHR/Pop Airplay Chart3US Cashbox Top 1001

Chart (2008)PeakpositionJapan (Japan Hot 100)98

Year-end charts Chart (1980)RankUK9

Chart (1981)RankAustralia (Kent Music Report)7Canada14New Zealand12U.S. Billboard12U.S. Cash Box24

Certifications

Other well-known versions The Swedish-born Norwegian singer Elisabeth Andreassen covered the song in Swedish, as "Han pendlar varje dag" ("He commutes every day") with new lyrics by Olle Bergman, on her 1981 album Angel of the Morning. This version stayed at Svensktoppen for nine weeks from 21 February to 18 April 1982, with a chart peak of number 4.

See also List of Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1981 List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1981 List of train songs

References

External links