9 to 5 (Sheena Easton song)

"Morning Train" redirects here. For the 1963 song, see Moving (Peter, Paul and Mary album).

"9 to 5"
UK single sleeve
Single by Sheena Easton
from the album Take My Time
B-side"Moody (My Love)"
Released
  • 16 May 1980 (UK)[1]
  • February 1981 (1981-02) (US)
Recorded1979
Genre
Length3:20
Label
  • EMI (original)
  • RT Industries (current)
Songwriter(s)Florrie Palmer
Producer(s)Christopher Neil
Sheena Easton singles chronology
"Modern Girl"
(1980) 		"9 to 5"
(1980) 		"One Man Woman"
(1980)
Alternative cover art
US single sleeve

"9 to 5" (or "Morning Train") is a song by Sheena Easton from 1981 album Take My Time. It was written by British songwriter Florrie Palmer and recorded and released as single in 1980, becoming Easton's biggest hit. It peaked at number three in the United Kingdom in August 1980 and was certified gold.[3] 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.

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.[4] "9 to 5" became a top three UK hit and was one of the best-selling singles of the year.[5]

Early in 1981, EMI Records decided to launch Easton in the US and released "9 to 5" as her debut single.[6] 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 Billboard's pop chart, becoming Easton's only chart-topper. On Billboard's 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.[6] 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.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "BPI".
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (4 May 2020). "The Number Ones: Sheena Easton's "Morning Train (Nine to Five)"". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 October 2022. ["Morning Train"] sounds like somebody's halfway-effective attempt at replicating old American pop music.
  3. ^ BPI - search Sheena Easton (Certification and UK release date) Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Biography : Sheena Easton - The Official Website". Sheena Easton. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference number ones was invoked but never defined (see the help page).