Tag Archives: Happy Birthday song

Camp Birthday Song

Age: 21

Text:
“Happy, happy birthday. What? Birthday. What? Happy, happy birthday. What? Birthday. What? Everybody knows that it’s your day, so we’re gonna celebrate in the best way. All your friends, no families here. This only happens once a year. Happy, happy birthday? What? Birthday. What?”

Context:
A girl from NYC who learned this song at sleep-away camp, where she spent her summers growing up.

Analysis:
This song is passed down each year from camper to camper during birthday celebrations. It is sung in unison and also features a matching clap “dance” to create the rhythm. This rendition of the Happy Birthday song was made to cater to campers who may or may not be homesick and need to be reminded that they area surrounded by all their friends and having the best time. The song is interactive and dynamic, making the birthday celebration all the more exciting.

Brasilian Birthday

AGE: 20 

Date of performance: 04/29/2025

Occupation: Student 

Primary Language: English 

Title-   Brasilian Birthday Traditions

Context- M shares a part of her familial heritage that influences how she celebrates birthdays in her family. M says, “I LOVE the brasilian happy birthday song, it’s awesome. It’s a tradition during birthdays to always have brigadeiro made, which is like a chocolate truffle ball made of milk, cocoa powder and butter that’s covered in sprinkles.”

Analysis- M shares a variation of the typical birthday most people imagine. Instead of the classic ‘Happy Birthday’ ballad followed by a whole cake, M celebrates her birthday the Brazilian way—singing the ‘brasilian happy birthday song’ and sharing many brigadeiro. An iconic element of folklore is observing how certain elements of a tradition, such as a birthday, are kept throughout the world but slightly adapted to the certain region/people. The way people can share similar customs but make it their own based on their unique traditions is a trait of folklore, which can be seen in M’s Brasilian birthday tradition.

Happy Birthday (On Channel 4)

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Environmental Scientist
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4 - 25 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So how did you sing the Happy Birthday song growing up?

Informant: Umm most of the time it was pretty normal with your average happy birthday to whomever and all that, but I remember this thing kids used to do where they would finish singing the normal song and then be like, “On channel four, theres something more, on channel five, you’re still alive, on channel six…” and so on but yeah I’m honestly glad no one does that anymore haha 

Background: 

My informant is in his early 20’s and was born and raised in Agoura Hills, CA. He’s lived in the same neighborhood throughout his entire life, other than when he was in college at Virginia Tech. 

Context:

I talked to my informant over a zoom video call during the 2020 Coronavirus quarantine

Thoughts:

It’s incredible how many different versions of Happy Birthday there are. It seems like every other family has their own idea of what it should be. My own hometown did the “On Channel,” whatever thing, but with different rhymes. I’ve also heard a ton of completely different joke-endings to the song, all with different lyrics and melodies.