Once
upon a time (in 1893), a pair of sisters wrote a simple song for
their nursery school and kindergarten students. Mildred J. Hill wrote
a simple tune, and Patty Smith Hill wrote some equal simple,
repetitive words:
Good
morning to you,
Good
morning to you,
Good
morning, dear children,
Good
morning to all.
The
two sang the catchy song with their young students, but they also
published it in a songbook for children.
The
song caught on. (That's the thing about catchy songs, isn't it? They
catch on!)
In
many classes, the young students sang the song to the teacher, so the
words were changed a little – “good morning to all” became
another repetition of “good morning to you,” and “dear teacher”
was sung in place of “dear children.”
And
somebody, somewhere, changed the song again to be a birthday song.
Perhaps you have heard it somewhere?
Happy
birthday to you,
Happy
birthday to you,
Happy
birthday dear so-and-so [insert name here],
Happy
birthday to you.
Well,
this latest version really caught on! It is by far the most
well-known song in the English-speaking world—maybe the entire
world!—and it's been used in millions of music boxes, watches,
musical greeting cards, and other for-profit products. It's been sung
on TV and on Broadway and in movies, in space and underwater living
spaces, in homes and schools, businesses and hospitals.
(By
the way, many people think that students who sang the Good Morning
song spontaneously changed the lyrics at birthday parties. Which
would mean that the most widely known song in the world was “written”
by a bunch of five- and six-year-old kids whose names we do not
know!)
Okay,
here's the weird part...this super-simple, almost ubiquitous (heard
everywhere) song—this song that was written in the 1800s, maybe by
a bunch of kids—is still protected by copyright!
Wh-wh-what???
My
sources are unclear about who filed copyright on “Happy Birthday to
You,” when, on whose behalf. Some sources say that another Hill
sister sued and received copyright protection for Patty and Mildred
Hill, and that the Hill Foundation collects royalties even to this
day, but another source says that the publisher of the Hill's
original “Good Morning” song filed for copyright on the birthday
version.
Whatever
the case, it seems that some of the profit-making enterprises that
use the popular birthday song do pay royalties—adding up to perhaps
two million dollars worth of royalties per year! It's totally fine to
sing the song in private, with small groups at birthday parties, for
example, but it is technically a violation to sing it in
profit-making venues with a lot of people. This is why a lot of
restaurants use original songs or other birthday songs—they want to
avoid any copyright lawsuits! Many movies and television shows show
people singing just a few notes (apparently this is “fair use”
and doesn't cost anything), but those who show people singing the
entire song have to pay $10,000 for the privilege! Yikes!
By
the way, copyright laws differ from nation to nation. The song will
become “public domain” (free for anyone to use, even for-profit
or large groups) in Europe in 2016, and it will move to public domain
status in the U.S. in 2030. And, here's one more fact to confuse you:
some lawyers think that the song is already in public domain, right
now, because the actual “authors” of the song (who, remember,
might be a bunch of kids) weren't the ones who filed for copyright.
Also
on this date:
Djibouti's Independence Day
This
exciting and popular bicycle race is held in France every year, and
today is Day 1 of the 2012 race.
This official website shows a map of the year's racecourse. The race will
finish on July 22 in Paris, with riders traveling one of the most
famous avenues in the world, the Champs-Elysees, to the Arc de
Triomphe (Arch of Triumph).
Ride
your bicycle today. (Wear a helmet, of course!)
