Original photo by Look Studio/ Shutterstock
When you sing along to an old standard, do you ever really think about the story behind the music? Songs like “Happy Birthday to You,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and (at least in the U.S.) “The Star Spangled Banner” feel like they’ve been with us forever, but all of them started somewhere. Here are a few fun facts about these beloved songs, from the popular (but false) story about “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to what “Hokey Pokey” and “Old MacDonald” sound like in other parts of the world.
“Happy Birthday to You” Was Originally “Good Morning to All”
“Happy Birthday to You” famously went through a huge copyright battle, despite being one of the best-known songs ever written in English. Sisters Patty and Mildred Hill initially published the song in 1893, and it remained under copyright, most recently to Warner Music Group, until a judge deemed the copyright invalid in 2015. But the original song written by the Hill sisters wasn’t “Happy Birthday to You” — the melody was for a greeting song called “Good Morning to All.” “Happy Birthday to You” was simply a variation that popped up in the early 20th century, although it eventually became the main lyric associated with the tune.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Has Three More Verses
Amateur poet Francis Scott Key wrote the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” while under bombardment at Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. In practice, the anthem, originally called “Defence of Fort M’Henry,” usually starts with “O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,” and ends with “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave/o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” However, this passage is just one of four total verses written by Key. Each one ends with a refrain similar to the last two lines.
Mozart Didn’t Write “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” — also the tune to “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and the alphabet song — is popularly attributed to 18th-century composer and child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but that’s not accurate. Mozart did, however, write some variations on the tune, possibly as an exercise for his music students. The ditty wasn’t known as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” at the time, but as a French folk song about candy called “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” (“Ah, Mother, if I could tell you”). The words to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” were written by poet Jane Taylor and published in 1806.
More Interesting Reads
It’s “Hokey Pokey” in the U.S. and “Hokey Cokey” in the U.K.
The origins of this popular dance are murky and difficult to untangle, so it’s hard to say with certainty how it ended up this way. But the fact remains: When you put your right hand in, take your right hand out, put your right hand in, and shake it all about, you’re doing the “Hokey Pokey” in the United States and the “Hokey Cokey” in the United Kingdom.
“Auld Lang Syne” Translates to “Old Long Since”
Despite not being written for New Year’s Day, the tune “Auld Lang Syne” has become the traditional ballad of the holiday in many English-speaking countries, including the United States, where it’s sung by thousands who aren’t exactly sure what it means. It’s written in Scots, which sounds similar to English in some ways but is a distinct language. Scots is descended from Northern English, which replaced Scottish Gaelic in some portions of Scotland between the 11th and 14th centuries. The literal translation of auld lang syne is “old long since,” but it effectively means “for old times’ sake.”
“Alouette” Is About Plucking a Bird’s Feathers … and Eyes
If you don’t know the real French lyrics to “Alouette,” it sounds like a sweet French nursery rhyme with a bouncy beat. If you’re a francophone, however, you know that it gets a little dark. The chorus translates to “lark, nice lark, I’ll pluck you,” and the verses alternate different body parts — so it’s useful for teaching children about them. Examples include “I’ll pluck your beak,” “I’ll pluck your head,” and, in some versions, “I’ll pluck your eyes.”
Old MacDonald Goes by Different Names Around the World
Like many traditional songs, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” lived a few different lives before it became standardized. One version from 1917 is about Old Macdougal with a farm in “Ohio-i-o.” Another version from the Ozarks is about Old Missouri with a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho. The English-speaking world has pretty much settled on Old MacDonald, but in different countries, the name gets localized. In Swedish, the farmer is named Per Olsson; in Germany, it’s Onkel (Uncle) Jörg.
Sarah Anne Lloyd is a freelance writer whose work covers a bit of everything, including politics, design, the environment, and yoga. Her work has appeared in Curbed, the Seattle Times, the Stranger, the Verge, and others.
