Like most people, I google “Dolly Parton” about three times a week just to check up on my favorite country musician. That’s why I noticed a new article about one of Dolly Parton’s songs in The Financial Times a couple of days ago. The article suggests that Dolly Parton’s hit song “9 to 5” is “an anthem for disgruntled office workers everywhere.”
If you really look closely at the lyrics, “9 to 5” does more than just identify with the struggle of office workers. I would argue that “9 to 5” is Marxist propaganda — the missing chapter of the communist manifesto which ties Marx’s economic theory to the plight of the American working class. So, screw you, Financial Times. Why are you reporting about Dolly Parton anyway? Don’t you have some stocks and bonds to write about?
I will demonstrate how Parton is using her lyrics to covertly proselytize her radical leftist politics. Heads up — the rest is this article is going to be boring if you are not familiar with Dolly Parton or Karl Marx. For reference, Dolly Parton is famous for many classic songs such as “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You” and “Coat of Many Colors.” Her hair is very big and she owns an amusement park called “Dollywood.” Karl Marx was a 19th century philosopher, scientist and revolutionary whose thoughts on the development of class struggle through capitalism will forever impact the movements of the working class. Both Parton and Marx have left an extraordinary impact on the world but Marx doesn’t have a theme park so he’s comparably less influential.
Let’s begin with the first chorus of “9 to 5.” “Workin' nine to five, 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.” It’s practically verbatim from Marx’s “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844.” In the capitalist mode of production, the worker is a commodity to be devalued as he produces more commodities. Not only is the product alien from the worker — the labor itself is external from him. Parton is clearly arguing political economy only conceals the estrangement of labor.
Once you start to hear to obvious undertones of Marxism in Parton’s song, you wonder how it got past the censors! This next passage is particularly heavy-handed: “Nine to five, for service and devotion/ You would think that I would deserve a fat promotion / Want to move ahead but the boss won't seem to let me / I swear sometimes that man is out to get me!” We get it, Dolly! The “boss,” or the capitalist, is incentivized to improve the efficiency of his production to compete with other firms in the free market, which causes the estrangement of the proletariat. When capitalism conflicts with existing property relations, the legal and political superstructure will inevitably transform. I’m basically just repeating what Parton said.
Don’t you feel silly for not hearing her message before? Take this passage for example: “You're in the same boat with a lotta your friends / Waitin' for the day your ship'll come in / An' the tide's gonna turn and it's all gonna roll your way.” Let me break this down for you. Dolly Parton mentions a boat. Boats sail on the ocean. Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. 1492 plus 108 equals 1600. The president lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Jimmy Carter was the president in 1980. Jimmy Carter was a Christian. Religion, the opium which conditions people to accept their hopeless position in the relations of production, stifles human development. The proletariat must abandon religion in order to encourage the human development which inevitably leads to communism.
Let’s analyze the last verse: “Nine to five, yeah they got you where they want you / There's a better life, and you dream 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.” Think this is a nuanced translation of Marx’s historical materialism? A critique of Hegel? A scathing criticism of the bourgeoisie? No, actually if you rearrange all of the letters in this verse it spells out, “I AM KARL MARX. PLEASE HELP ME. I HAVE BEEN DOOMED TO LIVE ETERNALLY IN DOLLY PARTON’S BODY UNTIL THE PROLETARIAT ACHIEVES SOCIAL OWNERSHIP OF THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION. OH GOD, JUST KILL ME. JUST LET ME DIE.”
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