The end of year winter season is a time when many of my family and friends celebrate their birthdays. This year I came across a Cantonese birthday song beyond the basic “happy birthday” / 生日快樂 that made me ponder whether other such “folk” birthday songs existed.
What are people singing about when they sing a common happy birthday song in their own language?
Let’s start with the baseline:
English
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear <NAME>
Happy birthday to you
Origin: an American children’s 1911 songbook derived from various earlier works going back to 1850s, possibly further.
Tune:
(Additional “forgotten” verses to the same tune)
From good friends and true
From old friends and new
May good luck go with you
And happiness too
How old are you now?
How old are you now?
How old, How old
How old are you now?
(Joke version)
Happy Birthday to you
You live in a zoo
You look like a monkey
And you act like one too
(For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow - alternate celebratory song commonly used on birthdays)
For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow
For he's a jolly good fellow (pause), and so say all of us
And so say all of us, and so say all of us
For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow
For he's a jolly good fellow (pause), and so say all of us!
Origin: Wikipedia entry
Tune:
Cantonese Chinese
(祝壽歌)
恭祝你福壽與天齊
> Wishing you good fortune, health, and stability
慶賀你生辰快樂
> Let's congratulate the dawn of your birth
年年都有今日
> Let this day come every year
歲歲都有今朝
> Let there be a beginning for every age
恭喜你
> We celebrate you
恭喜你
> We celebrate you
Origin: 1960s pop-opera song
Tune:
(Joke version)
恭祝你生日撼穿個頭
> Well done on cracking your head open on your birthday
慶賀你死埋老豆
> Congratulations on dying, bury your dad too
年年都要乞食
> Every year you'll be a beggar
歲歲都訓街邊
> Every year you'll sleep on the street
恭喜你
> Congratulations to you
恭喜你
> Congratulations to you
(Alternate, same tune as happy birthday)
朋友來慶賀
Friends gather in celebration
圍住來歌唱
Singing this song all around
齊聲祝你快樂
Together wishing you joy
恭祝生日快樂
Congratulations this happy birthday
Origin: unknown
Tune:
Mandarin Chinese
祝你生日快乐
Curiously, Mandarin Chinese doesn’t have any happy birthday songs which aren’t direct translations of the modern English happy birthday song to the exact tune. This is likely due to a traditionally significant cultural difference for counting age originating from China: East Asian age reckoning.
Japanese
お誕生日おめでとう
Like Mandarin Chinese, Japanese also sing “happy birthday” literally to the same tune as the English version; straightforward due to modern adaptation of birthday practices from western culture.
Korean
생일 축하합니다
As with the majority of other CJK (Chinese Japanese Korean) languages, there aren’t any alternate happy birthday songs; a standard substitution in Korean for the same tune.
Mongolian
төрсөн өдрийн мэнд хүргэе
Likely same as other East Asian languages above.
French
(Bon anniversaire)
Bon anniversaire, nos vœux les plus sincères
> Happy birthday, our most sincere wishes
Que ces quelques fleurs vous apportent le bonheur
> That these flowers bring you joy
Que l'année entière vous soit douce et légère
> That this entire year will be sweet and light to you
Et que l'an fini, nous soyons tous réunis
> And that at the year's end we'll reunite with you
Pour chanter en chœur :"Bon Anniversaire!"
> To sing in chorus: "Happy birthday!"
Origin: the film Un jour avec vous (1951).
Tune:
(Alternate Quebecois version)
Notre chère <NAME>
> Our dear <NAME>
C’est à ton tour de te laisser parler d’amour
> It's your turn to let yourself speak of love
Notre chère <NAME>
> Our dear <NAME>
C’est à ton tour de te laisser parler d’amour
> It's your turn to let yourself speak of love
Spanish
Feliz, feliz en tu día
> Happy happiness in your day
amiguito que Dios te bendiga
> God bless you, my litte friend
que reine la paz en tu vida
> That peace reigns in your life
y que cumplas muchos más
> And have more years
Origin: Hispanic TV clown trio song from around the 1960s
Tune:
(Mexican version: Las Mañanitas)
Estas son las mañanitas
> These are “Las Mañanitas”
que cantaba el rey David
> that King David used to sing.
hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti.
> Today because it's your birthday; we sing them to you.
Despierta, <NAME>, mi bien despierta,
> Wake up <NAME>, my love, wake up.
mira que ya amaneció,
> Look at what has dawned,
ya los pajaritos cantan, la luna ya se metió.
> Already the little birds are singing, the moon already went in.
Qué linda está la mañana
> How pretty is the morning
en que vengo a saludarte
> In which I come to greet you.
venimos todos con gusto
> We all came with pleasure
y placer a felicitarte.
> and joy to congratulate you.
El día en que tu naciste,
> On the day you were born
nacieron todas las flores,
> All the flowers were born.
y en la pila del bautismo,
> At the baptismal font
cantaron los ruiseñores.
> The mockingbirds sang.
Ya viene amaneciendo,
> It is starting to be dawn,
ya la luz del día nos dio.
> The day has given us light.
Levántate de mañana,
> Get up in the morning,
mira que ya amaneció.
> Look that it has already dawned.
Origin: Zacatecas, Mexico circa 1896.
Tune:
Very nice lyrics. Personally am a fan of this long-form birthday song!
German
(Hoch soll er leben)
Hoch soll sie/er leben!
> Long may she/he live!
Hoch soll sie/er leben!
> Long may she/he live!
Dreimal hoch!
> Three cheers!
Origin: chant from at least the 1960s, likely much older
Tune:
(Wie schön, dass du geboren bist)
Wie schön, dass du geboren bist
> How wonderful that you were born
wir hätten dich sonst sehr vermisst
> we otherwise would have missed you much
wie schön, dass wir beisammen sind
> how wonderful that we are together
wir gratulieren dir, Geburtstagskind
> congratulations to you, birthday child
Origin: written by singer-songwriter Rolf Zuckowski (early 2000s?)
Tune:
Others?
If you have an interesting popular folk birthday song that’s missing from this list or have a correction for this page, please let me know! Always curious to learn about different languages and cultures comparatively: [email protected]