"I Don't Have To Be Me ('til Monday)" is a song by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Steve Azar Stephen Thomas Azar (born April 11, 1964) is an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and philanthropist. Active since 1996, he has released a total of seven studio albums: one on the former River North Records, one on Mercury Nas ...

. It was released in October 2001 as the lead-off single from his album '' Waitin' on Joe''. The song peaked at number 2 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart, becoming Azar's highest-peaking single. Azar wrote this song with R.C. Bannon and Jason Young. It also peaked at number 35 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, making it his first and only Hot 100 entry, as well as his most successful single to date.

Content

In the song, the male narrator decides to call in sick on Friday so that he can have a

three-day weekend A long weekend is a weekend that is at least three days long (i.e. a three-day weekend), due to a public or unofficial holiday occurring on either the following Monday or preceding Friday. Many countries also have four-day weekends, in which ...

. The song is in a 4/4 time signature and moderate tempo in the key of

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

, following the chord progression A-E-Fm7-D.

Critical reception

Rick Cohoon of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the song a positive review, calling it "the lyrical embodiment of every working person’s fantasy" and "original, recognizable and conducive to toe tapping."

Chart performance

"I Don't Have to Be Me ('til Monday)" debuted at number 57 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the chart week of October 6, 2001. "I Don't Have to Be Me" spent forty-four weeks on the ''

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) charts, peaking at number 2 in mid-2002. It was his first charting single since "I Never Stopped Lovin' You" in 1996.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2001 singles Steve Azar songs Songs written by Steve Azar Songs written by R.C. Bannon Mercury Nashville singles 2001 songs