Change It Lyrics - 9 to 5

Song Overview

“Change It” is the Act 2 rallying cry of 9 to 5: The Musical, the moment when the office learns to push forward instead of waiting for permission. On the Original Broadway Cast Recording, Allison Janney, Megan Hilty, and Stephanie J. Block lead a full-company charge that feels like a pep talk you can dance to. Musically it’s pop-country with Broadway bite, a groove made for marching papers. The lyrics are plainspoken and punchy, designed to be shouted from cubicles and car stereos alike.

Review & Highlights

This one lands like a memo from your future self: get moving. The band kicks up a bright backbeat, the chorus stacks in layers, and the hook keeps circling back with that stubborn optimism the show wears proudly. As a theatre number, it’s a pivot point; as a track, it’s a three-minute reset button. The lyrics repeat like a mantra because that’s how change starts - one small choice repeated out loud. Key takeaways: direct language, ensemble muscle, and a rhythmic lift that makes resolve feel fun.

Verse 1

Doralee tees it up with conversational rhyme, the kind of talk-sung counsel that fits a break room as easily as a stage. The rhythm section snaps tight, guitars flicker, and you can hear the smile in the phrasing.

Chorus

“Nothin’s gonna change if you don’t change it” is both hook and thesis. Harmony stacks turn the slogan into a crowd scene. It’s catchy because it’s true, and because the vowels are friendly to belt.

Exchange/Bridge

Call-and-response gets the floor moving. Voices trade lines like sticky notes, then lock into a unison push. The arrangement keeps the groove crisp so the message stays front and center.

Final Build

The tag rolls like a chant at a staff meeting that finally went your way. Drums punch, the choir swells, then a clean cutoff. No grand coda - just a door opening.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The message is practical: stop waiting for the policy to love you back. “Change It” speaks in first principles anyone can use. Tear down the dam, take the reins, rearrange what you can reach. The writing stays informal on purpose, because pep talks land better without jargon.

It’s also culture at work. Dolly Parton’s score folds country phrasing into Broadway form, so the advice sounds like it came from your aunt and your union rep at the same time. That blend is the show’s fingerprint.

Emotionally, the number starts as a nudge and turns into a pledge. What begins with a friend’s shoulder squeeze becomes a room of people promising each other to act. That escalation is baked into the orchestration and the lyric loops.

As narrative, it clears the runway for Act 2 fixes. Policies shift, people step up, and the company starts to look like something worth working for. The song doesn’t solve plot so much as trigger solutions.

Message

Agency is learned by doing. Say it, sing it, then try it. The lyric keeps telling you what your legs already know.

Emotional tone

Upbeat, warm, a little bossy in the best way. It pats your back and then hands you the checklist.

Production

The OBCR cut keeps guitars, keys, and tight drums in front, with choral pads that bloom across the stereo field. Studio polish helps the groove translate offstage without losing theatre snap.

Instrumentation

Rhythm section, guitars, keys, brass accents, and full ensemble vocals. It’s a modern pit band language, recorded like pop.

Analysis of key phrases and idioms

“Tear the damn dam down” is a neat double - mild swear for spice, image for memory. “Take the reins” keeps the cowboy wink alive without turning the song into pastiche.

About metaphors and symbols

The “little light” motif nods to gospel tradition and community action. Shine it, share it, then do the work.

Creation history

The number arrives in Act 2 of the Broadway version and replaced an earlier tryout idea, tightening the show’s late-game momentum. Later West End updates kept it, proof that the message travels.

Key Facts

• Featured: Allison Janney (Violet), Megan Hilty (Doralee), Stephanie J. Block (Judy) with Ensemble
• Writer: Dolly Parton
• Producers: Dolly Parton, Stephen Oremus
• Co-producer: Alex Lacamoire; Recording/Mix: Frank Filipetti
• Recorded: May 3–4, 2009 at Legacy Recording Studios, New York
• Release Date (OBCR): July 14, 2009 - digital; July 28, 2009 - CD
• Album: 9 to 5: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Label: Dolly Records
• Length: 2:45
• Genre: Broadway pop with country flair
• Instruments: rhythm section, guitars, keyboards, brass, chorus
• Placement: Act 2 ensemble anthem
• Language: English
• Music style: pep-rock groove, stacked harmonies
• Poetic meter: accentual lines with punchy trochaic bursts
• © Copyrights: 2009 Dolly Records; underlying composition by The Dolly Parton Company

Questions and Answers

Who sings on the cast album cut of “Change It”?

Allison Janney, Megan Hilty, and Stephanie J. Block front the Ensemble on the Original Broadway Cast Recording.

Who produced the track?

Dolly Parton and Stephen Oremus produced the OBCR, with Alex Lacamoire as co-producer and Frank Filipetti recording and mixing.

When did the cast album come out?

Digital release was July 14, 2009, with the CD following July 28, 2009.

Was there a single of “Change It” outside the OBCR?

Yes. Dolly Parton issued “Change It (feat. 9 to 5 Cast)” as a standalone digital single in 2009.

Is there another official recording besides the Broadway album?

Yes. The West End Cast Recording (live at the Savoy Theatre) features “Change It” with the London company.

Awards and Chart Positions

The Original Broadway Cast Recording earned a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Show Album. The album also charted in the U.S., including the Billboard 200, Top Cast Albums, and Independent Albums lists.

How to Sing Change It?

• Who sings what: Doralee drives the lead brightness, Violet anchors with grounded mix, Judy lifts the top lines. Ensemble answers add width. Cast it for blend over brute force.
• Tempo & feel: Mid-up groove. Keep consonants crisp so the hook bites without rushing the pocket.
• Breath & phrasing: Treat the title line as two supported arcs. Save air for the stacked tags at the end.
• Tone color: Forward vowels, smiling placement. Let the belt bloom on “change it” while keeping the verses speech-clear.
• Blend tips: On the call-and-response, match cutoffs first, volume second. The energy reads cleaner when the room breathes together.