Question: Do black people sing a different version of “Happy Birthday”?
Response: Happy Birthday, is not a white people thing, folks of all races sing the song.
Additionally, I want to take this minute to mention that there is no monolithic “black people.” As white folks we often make the mistake of talking about non-white people as monolithic groups. Media sources are especially at fault of this. We need to resist this by discussing people as individuals and celebrating the diversity within racial and ethnic groups.
Your question might come from seeing that some folks have have a tradition of singing Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday song.
I personally have been in groups where we sing both the “Happy Birthday” song and then launch into the brief chorus of Stevie Wonder’s song and sometimes I have been with folks who sing “for he/she’s a jolly good fellow”. According to the Guinness World Records, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” is the second-most popular song in the English language, following “Happy Birthday to You“.
Wonder was one of the main figures in the campaign to have the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. become a national holiday, and created this single to make the cause known.
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthdayRead more: Stevie Wonder – Happy Birthday Lyrics | MetroLyrics
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