Birthday Songs

Back in the days before Facebook was popular, there was this service called Livejournal. When someone’s birthday came around, you would do a post wishing them “Happy Birthday”. I thought that was too simple, and wanted to sing a birthday song. Now, I absolutely detest “Happy Birthday to You”, preferring instead the song that was song in my childhood in Los Angeles: that is, the “Birthday Cake Polka” (i.e., “put another candle on your birthday cake“) as sung by Sheriff John Rovack, a children’s TV host on Channel 11. That quickly turned into a poll asking people their favorite birthday song, which was first posted in 2005.

Over the years, Livejournal has declined in popularity; it has been eclipsed by Facebook. Yet I still give birthday songs. Without the poll, it has just devolved into singing the Birthday Cake Polka. Recently, I’ve decided to revive the goal of providing a song of your choice. Click here to see the song choices others have made; comment on that page to make your song selection.

What song can you pick. The following are the songs that the Sheriff knows:

• A Very Merry Unbirthday [Sherman/Sherman]
• Another Candle [Jerry Herman-“Parade”]
• Back When We Were Beautiful [Berg Matraca-“Good ‘Ol Girls”]
• Birthday [Beatles]
• Birthday [The Lumineers] †
• Birthday [Sugar Cubes]
• Birthday Bitch!† [Jon Hartmere & Damon Intrabartolo – “bare – A Rock Musical”]
• Birthday Cake [Cibo Matto]
• Birthday Cake Polka [John Rovack, 1952]
• Birthday Cake Polka (Gluten-Free) [John Rovack]
• Birthday Dirge [Trad.]
• Birthday Massacre [Birthday Massacre]
• Birthday Song [Golden Bough]
• Born Never Asked [Laurie Anderson]
• Celebrate You [Emma’s Revolution] †
• Cut the Cake [Tina Liza Jones]
• Happy Birthday [Altered Images]
• Happy Birthday [Tom Chapin] †
• Happy Birthday [Concrete Blond]
• Happy Birthday [I’m Getting My Act Together…]
• Happy Birthday [Mr Rogers] †
• Happy Birthday [Stevie Wonder]
• Happy Birthday [Weird Al Yankovic]
• Happy Birthday [Zorba the Greek]
• Happy Birthday, Erwin [Jay Livingston, Ray Evans – “Let It Ride”]
• Happy Birthday, Ralph [Atom and his Package]
• Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen [Neil Sedaka]
• Happy Birthday To You [Hill/Smith, 1893]
• Happy Clappy Birthday (Gwendolyn)
• Happy Happy Birthday Song [Arrogant Worms]
• Hubappuby Bubirthdubay Tubo Yubou [Zoom]
• I’d Rather Be Dead [Harry Nilsson]
• Joyeux anniversaire
• Las Mañanitas
• Make Your Own Party [Marcy/Zina]
• Modern Maturity [Tom Paxton]
• Older [They Might Be Giants]
• Over The Hill [Fred Sokolow]
• The Pirate Birthday Song [Heather Alexander]
• 15 [Marilyn Manson]
• 30/90 [Jonathan Larsen, from “tick… tick… Boom!”]
• This is your birthday song, it isn’t very long [Unknown Artist]
• Tsu dayn geburtstog (For Your Birthday) [Abraham Goldfaden (1840-1908)]
• Unhappy Birthday [The Smiths]
• Yom Huledet [Batler/Datz]

* (Note: Some additional songs may be found through this page)
† Indicates songs added since January 2023

This is the place to comment if you want a birthday song on Livejournal, Facebook, or Dreamwidth (the indicated service needs to send or provide me with a birthday reminder). Just indicate the song, the service, your username (if the last two are supplied by your signin), and if necessary, the month and day of birth.

Note: You need to be demonstrably active (i.e., making posts that I can see) on the service to get a birthday song. If you are on multiple services, you get one song, in the priority order: Facebook, Livejournal, Dreamwidth.