Personalized Birthday Songs
A birthday song with their name in it, their year in it, and the joke only your family gets. Answer five questions and hear it in about two minutes. If you would rather borrow a song than commission one, the lists below sort them by who is having the birthday.
Updated September 20268 songs
- Birthday songs for sonFrom a mother, from a father, for a boy or a grown man.
- Birthday songs for daughterFrom the first birthday to the ones she stops counting.
- Birthday songs for momWarm, funny, and not a Mother’s Day song in disguise.
- Birthday songs for dadFor a man who says he does not want anything.
- Birthday songs for a friendSentimental, sarcastic, or somewhere in between.
- Birthday songs for grandmaSongs from her decade, plus one from the grandchildren.
- Birthday songs for sisterSweet, silly, and the ones that reference childhood.
- Birthday songs for brotherFor a brother who will pretend not to be moved.
- Birthday songs for someone specialWhen the relationship does not have a tidy name.
- 18th birthday songsThe last birthday the family runs and the first that is theirs.
- 21st birthday songsThe pre-drinks, the peak, and the one sincere song at the end.
- Milestone birthday songsThirtieth, fortieth, fiftieth, sixtieth — by the decade.
- Sweet 16 songsFor the party, the entrance and the slideshow.
The eight everyone already has
- Happy Birthday to YouMildred J. Hill & Patty Smith Hill · 1893
The melody the world sings. Public domain since 2016 in the United States, so nobody is going to stop you.
- Happy BirthdayStevie Wonder · 1980
Written to campaign for a national holiday, and now the default at Black American birthdays. Better as a party record than as a moment.
- BirthdayThe Beatles · 1968
Two and a half minutes of noise. Perfect for the second the cake arrives, useless for anything sentimental.
- It’s My PartyLesley Gore · 1963
For a sixtieth or a seventieth, where half the room was alive when it came out.
- CelebrationKool & The Gang · 1980
Not a birthday song, and it has been at every birthday party since 1980 anyway.
- In Da Club50 Cent · 2003
One line about a birthday and a whole generation treats it as the anthem. Know your room.
- Best Day of My LifeAmerican Authors · 2013
The safe upbeat choice for a video montage. Broad enough that nobody objects.
- Forever YoungRod Stewart · 1988
For a milestone birthday where somebody is going to give a speech. It does half the speech for them.
When the standards are not enough
There are only about eight birthday songs, and everyone has heard all of them. That is fine for the moment the cake comes out and useless for the gift. Nobody keeps a copy of “Happy Birthday”. The thing people keep is the one with their name in it.
What makes a personalised song land is not the production, it is the detail. A song that says “happy birthday, you are a wonderful person” is a card. A song that mentions the town, the car, the nickname, the argument about the barbecue in 2019 — that is the one they play for people. When you answer the five questions, be more specific than feels reasonable.
Pick the style from their record collection, not from the occasion. A country song for someone who has never listened to country will sound like a novelty. If they play one genre in the car, that is the genre. If you genuinely do not know, acoustic is the least likely to be wrong.
On timing: allow a day. The song itself takes about two minutes, but you will want to hear it, change a line, and hear it again. Doing that the morning of the party is how people end up sending something they are not happy with.
Three demonstration songs
What a personalised birthday song sounds like
We wrote these from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. Notice how much of each one is detail that could not be in any other song.
Make their birthday song- Ruth’s Yellow KitchenCountry · a grandmother who fed everyone who came to the door3:39
- Marcus at FortyPop · written to be funny, at a friend’s request3:00
- Danny On The RiverAcoustic · to a brother, after eleven months of silence3:15
How it works
Three steps. The first one is the only hard part.
- 1Tell the storyFive questions. Who it’s for, the occasion, three details only you two know, the feeling you want, and the names that have to be in it.
- 2Pick the soundCountry, pop, acoustic, R&B, gospel or rock. A man’s voice or a woman’s.
- 3Listen, then unlockA 30-second preview in about two minutes. Pay only if you love it. You get the full song, the lyrics, and a page you can send.
Common questions
- Can I get a birthday song with someone’s name in it?
- Yes — that is the whole point of this one. Give us the name, the occasion and three details, and the name goes into the lyrics rather than being read out over a backing track.
- How long does a personalised birthday song take?
- About two minutes for a 30-second preview, and a few minutes more for the full song once you pay. Allow a day if you want to change a line and hear it again, which most people do.
- How much does a custom birthday song cost?
- Nineteen dollars for the song, the lyrics and a share page. Thirty-five adds a printable lyric card, cover art and two rounds of changes. Studios that record with a live songwriter typically start near $200.
- Is it legal to use “Happy Birthday to You”?
- In the United States, yes. The melody entered the public domain there in 2016 after a court ruling and a settlement. That does not extend to any particular recording of it — a specific studio version is still owned by whoever made it.
- What if I do not like the song?
- You hear a 30-second preview before you pay anything. If it is not right at that point, you have not spent money and you can change the answers and try again.