Donna Summer

She works hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right

She works hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right

I met her there in the corner stands
And wonders where she is
And it's strange to her
Some people seem to have everything

9 a.m. on the hour hand and
She's waiting for the bell
And she's looking real pretty
She's waiting for her clientèle

She works hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right

She works hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right

Twenty-eight years have come and gone
And she's seen a lot of tears
Of the ones who come in
They really seem to need her there

It's a sacrifice working day to day
For little money, just tips for pay
But it's worth it all
Just to hear them say that they care

She works hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right

She works hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right

She already knows she's seen her bad times
She already knows these are the good times
She'll never sell out
She never will
Not for a dollar bill
She works hard...

She works hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right

Hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right
All right

She works hard for the money (hard, hard, hard for the money)
So hard for it, honey (hard, hard, hard for it honey)
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right

She works hard for the money (hard, hard, hard for the money)
So hard for it, honey (hard, hard, hard for it honey)

As the unquestioned queen of disco, the one and only Donna Summer lit up the late 70s and 80s with flashy, exuberant vocals and automatic earworms. Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on Dec. 31, 1948, Summer moved to Germany after being cast in a Munich production of Hair. There, she happened to meet Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and the trio conglomerated to form a dynamic music team. With Moroder, Summer forged together her first album, The Hostage, which reached moderate success in Northern Europe. Summer’s big break, however, would come later with the release of 1975’s sexual “Love to Love You Baby”, which became one of disco’s first mainstream hits and reached #2 on the Billboard Charts.

1977 came around with the concept album I Remember Yesterday, which featured the Top 10 single “I Feel Love”. The next year, Summer hit the silver screen with the movie Thank God It’s Friday, whose soundtrack featured one of her own the iconic “Last Dance.” This would later become one of the disco legends' signature songs. “Dance” would take home an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe, and it jumped to a peak of #3 on the charts.

Yet Summer’s illustrious career was far from finished – Summer’s first live album Live and More featured the single “MacArthur Park”, a melting ballad that was a cover of the Jimmy Webb ballad of the same name. “Park” became Summer’s first – and perhaps most memorable – No. 1 hit, and cemented her status as a vocalist as well as a performer. With the track, she became the first female in modern rock history to hold the top spot in both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200. 1979, though, would really be the peak of her career.

more tracks from the album

High Life

From the album

High Life (1983)

Donna Summer popular songs

She works hard for the money - edited single versionDonna Summer

Donna Summer

High Life