I have added another song to the pantheon of birthday ditties. As if there aren’t enough, huh. But my song has a couple twists. Astronomy and fire.
Astronomy:
The lyric of my song includes this line: “So your birthday has come. Another spin around the sun.” When my November birthday rolls by I remind myself that the Earth was at this same location on her 365 day orbit around the Sun as last year and the year before that. Give or take. Birthdays are locked into time and space and gravity. And Happy Birthday to Albert Einstein too!
The “Fire” Thing:
I remember hearing, or reading, or dreaming a phrase that went like this: “The more candles on your cake, the brighter your light shines.” Well that is sweet, isn’t it? And hopeful. And probably not true. Except for a precious few who light up a room without candles. But maybe there is some deeper mystery at work here. Something timeless. About us. It is quiet, yet bright as the sun, and has nothing to do with the birthday date stamped on our driver’s license. Please don’t roll your eyes. I’m only a little cuckoo.
Well however one views the ineffable currents that move our lives, singing is fun and so is playing the ukulele and celebrating birthdays. Since we are all hanging out in the same earth orbit, I figure a birthday Shout Out to one is a birthday Shout Out for all. So, Whoo-Hoo!
The CC Strummers and I have been practicing our birthday song for weeks and finally the big VIDEO day arrives. We wear birthday hats and crowns. There are balloons and a Happy Birthday sign I hang on the back wall. Michael, our video & techie dude has set up his wide-angle, high definition camera. There are more CC Strummers these days and we need a bigger camera!
As I am editing the video on my computer, a little thought bubble bursts over my head: Why not wish folks happy birthday in THEIR language too? Using titles and fancy fonts. So I Google “how do you say happy birthday in different languages?” Suddenly I am face to face with a roster of languages that scrolls from north to south. Many are written in alphabets that would make calligraphers swoon. So I copy and paste, copy and paste and voila (French!), my song “And Happy Birthday To You” has taken on an international flair.
Of course I am making a bold assumption—that everything on the internet is absolutely correct. Are you laughing? Thai, Indonesian, Korean…they all look Greek to me and I can’t make out the Greek either. So I’m taking a leap of faith here that these phrases really mean “Happy Birthday” and not something like “You can take your birthday and shove it where the sun don’t shine.” Well, that IS kind of astronomical…
You gotta watch the video! CLICK HERE. It’s short, so sweet, “educational” and share-worthy. What would Einstein say? Maybe… “And Happy Birthday To You.”
This song is on my newest CD “Smile, Smile, Smile.” Please give the studio version a listen at iTunes, Amazon & CD Baby where all my CD’s and individual songs are available to download & purchase.
Thanks a million everybody!
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