Birthday Songs

I, for one think that there needs to be more birthday songs out there. Sure, everyone knows "Happy Birthday" and "Birthday" by the Beatles, but it is a great market for anyone to get into, and an easy winner in song contests if you can write a good one. Here are a few suggestions you might try in approaching this topic.

MY FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY

You can start by just writing a birthday song to a good friend. Sure, it could also be a family member or a loved one, but the important thing is that it is a person you know well and can eulogize or roast effectively and have the excuse of throwing a good party where you can debut your song. That way, you will also have an audience, hopefully, to try the tune out on as well. Think of specific things about this person that makes you want to celebrate them in your world, remembering that the more personal the song is, chances are that the more universal the concepts you are writing about will be. You can get general about their life up to that point and the bright future ahead, in a more biographical vein, or more specific about how special this person is to you, personally. Whichever approach you decide to take, you might think about bouncing your ideas off of someone else who knows this person well, first, to make sure you haven't unwittingly said something that might ruffle some feathers, especially if told in front of a large group at a party.

A FAMOUS PERSON'S BIRTHDAY

You can always write a song about some famous person being born into the world, and, if the person isn't still alive, you might not even need to get permission to use their name. I would check on the legality of anyone you do decide to write a song about, though, and even check with them or their relatives if any of those are still around, to get permission to use their name and story, and maybe even get a few great insights about that person to add to your song if they like the idea. Who knows? If Disney or someone else decides to do a biography on this person, they might even be a good group to pitch the song to and see if they could use your idea as part of the soundtrack.

BIRTHDAYS IN GENERAL

Being generic so that anyone could use your song is always fun, too. If you can come up with a nice and catchy one, you might see if a local restaurant that celebrates parties of persons who come in to eat would consider using it just to give you the exposure. You could even try sending it around to the local radio stations to see if they want to use it for online dedications or for their celebrity birthday segment if they do that each day. Try to think of things about birthdays that make folks enjoy or dread them when you are writing. I really think it would be hilarious, too, if someone would do a song that wishes someone an awful birthday or a song about how one might not be too happy about being a year older. Knock a lot of silly lyrical ideas together, both serious and silly, and see what you can come up with. With a little luck, you might have a hit on your hands.

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