Articles for kids

Happy Birthday song

When it comes to a birthday, there are a few ways of saying that it is time for cake, but it is known to everyone who is young or old, that all you have to do is start singing “Happy Birthday” and soon the cake and all the candles will appear.

The song is made of four bars and only sixteen words. It is a very simple song, but it has a very deep meaning.

In fact, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Happy Birthday is the most popular song in the English Language.

Most of the time, it is sung in English, however, you’ll want to keep in mind that there are many languages that translate the song, even if the country or culture is not use to using English celebrations.

The Hill sisters composed the tune, -Happy Birthday To You-, in 1893. Originally the schoolteachers wrote the tune to a song entitles -Good Morning To You- and was sung to
the classroom every morning.

Keep in mind that the version that most people know was copyrighted in 1935, but the copyright will expire in the year 2030. In fact, technically it is illegal to publicly perform –Happy Birthday To You- unless royalties are paid to the Summy Company and its owner Warner Chappell who bought the company in 1990.

Did you know that the value of the song is estimated about $5 million, but the fact is that it is not clear as to who wrote the song?

And because strict copy law issue, many people who are shooting a film will not show the full content of the song, and that is why you’ll often see them singing another song (For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow) instead of singing the birthday song.