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Birthday Song (happy birthday to you and there's nothing you can do)

from Exiting the Shadows by Remedy

/

about

Once upon a time.....for about 3/4 of a century, "Happy Birthday" was privately owned by Warner Music Group, and anyone who wanted to use it
in a commercial enterprize had to pay big royalties to do so. But ever since 2014, a lawsuit that challenged Warner's ownership of the original
song, based on the fact that the original copyright was for a song called "Good Morning to You", which had the lyrics "Good morning to you,
Good morning to you, Good morning dear children, Good morning to all". Only later were the words changed to "happy birthday". But that was
enough for the judge in this lawsuit to side with the plaintifs and declare that Happy Birthday is now, and for the rest of time, in the PUBLIC
DOMAIN!
I did not know this when I wrote this song. I wrote it as a birthday present to my wife. She's awesome!
And at the end of the song, I decided to make an musical epilogue that was reminscent (but not exact) of the "Happy Birthday" song. But it was
just when I was putting the finishing touches on each track that I discovered this news about Happy Birthday's recent entry into the cannon of works
in the Public Domain. So I changed the epilogue from "reminiscent of" happy birthday to "the last 2 phrases" of Happy Birthday, now feeling a new
sense of wonderful litigious immunity! Admittedly though......the melodic line that's played in those last bars of the epilogue were in fact written
by the Mildred sisters, and if they weren't so greedy in making "Good Morning to You" into "Happy Birthday to You", they might still have ownership
of that musical phrase today. But because the universe has a sense of karmic humor, and they got far more than they deserved for far too long,
they now have to suffer the injustice of us covering their song, and having absolutely no legal recourse whatsoever! Kinda like melodic double-
jeopordy. mwa ha ha HAAAA!

lyrics

There's only one thing I want, for my birthday today, and that is you
Just wanna savor your seductive shape, blocking out the twilight and the moon
There's only one thing I know I got to have before I go and that is you
It is only you....

It's a shame I never mentioned it before
When I hold it in and I don't know what for
It's a shame it takes a special day to show
All about you that I love

(non-existent second verse lyrics): I know she wants what she wants
when she wants it
and she flaunts it out of you.
She's got recaptivating eyes that penetrate deep into mine and cut me loose. There's only one girl I know, I let control my stereo, baby it's you.
It is only you.....
It's a shame I never mentioned it before, when I hold it in and I don't know what for. It's a shame it takes a special day to show all about you that I love......

credits

from Exiting the Shadows, released October 1, 2018
Steve Harley - vocals, guitars
James Bond - bass
Gil Roy - drums
Arranged by Remedy
Music and Lyrics by Steve Harley (save epilogue.....public domain)

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all rights reserved

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Remedy Halifax, Nova Scotia

Remedy is a Canadian Alt-funk-groove-rock trio out of Halifax. After 16 years of jamming together, the band has carved out a niche sound that blends a unique mix of rock with a deliberate rhythmic core. linktr.ee/remedymusic

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