I Don't Have to Be Me ('til Monday)
{{Infobox song
| name = I Don't Have To Be Me ('til Monday)
| cover = SA - I Dont Have to Be Me.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Steve Azar
| album = Waitin' on Joe
| B-side = "You Don't Know How It Feels"
| released = {{start date|2001|10|01}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = 3:16
| label = Mercury Nashville
| writer = R.C. Bannon
Jason Young
Steve Azar
| producer = Rafe Van Hoy
| prev_title = Nights Like This
| prev_year = 1996
| next_title = Waitin' on Joe
| next_year = 2002
}}
"I Don't Have To Be Me ('til Monday)" is a song by American country music artist Steve Azar. 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 Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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, 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. The song is in a 4/4 time signature and moderate tempo in the key of A-flat major, following the chord progression A{{flat}}-E{{flat}}-Fm7-D{{flat}}.{{cite web | url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0117011 | title=Sheet music for 'I Don't Have to Be Me' | date=6 May 2013 | publisher=MusicNotes.com | accessdate=January 15, 2021}}
Critical reception
Rick Cohoon of Allmusic 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."{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=song|id=t5472196|pure_url=yes}}|title="I Don't Have to Be Me ('til Monday)" review|last=Cohoon|first=Rick|work=Allmusic|accessdate=25 February 2010}}
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 Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, peaking at number 2 in mid-2002.{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|date=2008|pages=244|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}} It was his first charting single since "I Never Stopped Lovin' You" in 1996.
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (2001–2002) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|2|artist=Steve Azar|artistid=485195}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|35|artist=Steve Azar|artistid=485195}} |
=Year-end charts=
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Steve Azar}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Steve Azar
Category:Songs written by R.C. Bannon