Artist: The Birthday Party
Song: Happy Birthday
Album: The Birthday Party (1980)
The Birthday Party were one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s, creating bleak and noisy soundscapes that provided the perfect setting for vocalist Nick Cave's difficult, disturbing stories of religion, violence, and perversity. Under the direction of Cave and guitarist Rowland S. Howard, the band tore through reams of blues and rockabilly licks, spitting out hellacious feedback and noise at an unrelenting pace. As the Birthday Party's career progressed, Cave's vision got darker and the band's songs alternated between dirges to blistering sonic… more
"Happy Birthday" is a 1980 song and single by The Boys Next Door. The song is not related to the popular birthday song "Happy Birthday to You". It can be considered a parody.
The first album it appeared on was The Birthday Party. It was later included as track two on the 1992 compilation Hits.
The release of the single was part of the band's rebranding of themselves as The Birthday Party before their relocation to London. It is notable for several reasons. The mundanity of the song's lyrical subject matter, an eleven year old boy's birthday party, contrasts strongly to the discordance of the music. The song is also an excellent showcase for the sub-vocalisations that marked Nick Cave's early singing style, including grunts, wordless shrieks and on two separate occasions an impersonation of a barking dog. The song also displays the band's innovative use of two lead guitarists playing two separate riffs.
Its a very happy day
We are at lots of fun fun fun
And its ice-cream and jelly
And a punch in the belly
How much can you throw over the walls?
And see how his face glows
Its a bike! what a surprise.
Its a big bike. what a big surprise.
Its a red bike. what a red surprise.
Oh, what a surprise.
But the best thing there
But the best thing there
Was the wonderful dog chair
Was the beautiful dog chair
That could count right up to ten
It could count right up to ten
It went woof, woof, woof, woof, woof,
Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.
And its another happy day.
He was born eleven years ago
And this year its long trousers
And a very smart tie.
Just think in five years hell be shaving.
And see how his face glows
It's a bike. what a surprise!
It's a samurai sword.
What a metal surprise.
He'll remember this day for the rest of his life.
But the best thing there
But the best thing there
Is that fabulous dog chair
The immaculate dog chair
That could count right up to eleven
It could count right up to eleven
It went woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof,
Woof, woof, woof.
But the best thing there
But the best thing there
Was my darling the dog chair
But the rampaging dog chair
That could count right up to eleven
It could count right up to eleven.
And it went round and round the house
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