Birthday Songs for Sister
Thirty-four birthday songs for a sister. Sisters have a real songbook of their own, which most relationships do not, so the ones actually about sisters come first. Then picks for whichever kind of sister yours is.
Updated September 202634 songs
Ten written about sisters
- SistersIrving Berlin, from White Christmas · 1954
The original sister song, and knowingly ridiculous. If your family watches the film every December, this is already yours.
- We Are FamilySister Sledge · 1979
Written and recorded by four actual sisters. Nothing else on this list can say that.
- I’ll Stand by YouThe Pretenders · 1994
The promise sisters make without announcing it. Sits low enough that most people can sing it.
- For GoodFrom Wicked, by Stephen Schwartz · 2003
Two women saying they changed each other. Not about sisters and used at every sisterly occasion anyway.
- LandslideFleetwood Mac · 1975
Stevie Nicks wrote it about her own life, and it has become the song women send each other at every turning point.
- You’ve Got a FriendCarole King · 1971
For a sister who is also the person you call first. Plain and unembarrassed.
- DreamsFleetwood Mac · 1977
Cool rather than sentimental, which some sisters would much rather receive.
- True ColorsCyndi Lauper · 1986
For a sister who has been hiding something, or has just stopped hiding it.
- Girls Just Want to Have FunCyndi Lauper · 1983
For the party rather than the moment. Two sisters over thirty will both know the video.
- Ribbon in the SkyStevie Wonder · 1982
Grand and warm without being romantic. Good when you want to be serious for once.
Which kind of sister is she
Sisterhood is not one relationship. There is the sister who is your best friend and has been since you were eight. There is the one you competed with for twenty years and now love properly. There is the one who lives four time zones away and whom you speak to twice a year and would still take a bullet for. A song that suits one of those will be actively wrong for the others.
If you have the rivalry kind, lean into it. A song that is funny about the two of you will do far more than a sincere one, because sincerity between siblings who spent a decade fighting reads as strange. The joke is the affection. Send the sincere one when she is having a bad year, not on her birthday.
Watch the age gap. A sister eight years older was effectively a second parent for part of your childhood, and songs about parents often fit her better than songs about sisters. A much younger sister may not remember the version of the family you remember, which is worth knowing before you build a song around a shared memory she does not have.
On the specific practical question of what to send: sisters, unlike brothers, generally do not deflect. You can be direct, in public, on the day, and it will land. This is one of the few relationships on this site where a sentimental song in front of other people is a safe bet.
By what the two of you are like
If she is your best friend
The one you talk to every day. These can be as sincere as you like, because she will not flinch.
- Count on MeBruno Mars · 2010
Simple and warm, and short enough to send with no explanation attached.
- You’re My Best FriendQueen · 1975
Two and a half minutes and relentlessly cheerful. Written about a wife, borrowed constantly.
- Lean on MeBill Withers · 1972
For the sister everyone in the family calls first, including you.
- Thank You for Being a FriendAndrew Gold · 1978
The full-length original is warmer and odder than the theme tune. A nice surprise for someone who only knows the sixty seconds.
- That’s What Friends Are ForDionne Warwick and Friends · 1985
Recorded as an AIDS benefit single. Sincere past the point of fashion, which between sisters is fine.
- Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel · 1970
The biggest thing you can say. Save it for a year when she needed you and you turned up.
- Rivers and RoadsThe Head and the Heart · 2011
About people scattering and staying attached anyway. Play the last minute.
- HomeEdward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros · 2009
About a person being a place. For a sister who is the only bit of the family home still standing.
If you spent twenty years fighting
The joke is the affection. A funny song between sisters who competed does more work than a sincere one ever will.
- SistersIrving Berlin, from White Christmas · 1954
The line about anyone who comes between them is the whole gag. Send it with no comment.
- You Oughta KnowAlanis Morissette · 1995
Wildly disproportionate to a birthday, which is why it is funny. For a sister with a sense of humour about herself.
- I’m Still StandingElton John · 1983
For a sister who has survived a chaotic year, ideally one of her own making.
- Bye Bye ByeNSYNC · 2000
If she has just left a job, a city or a person. The choreography is the point.
- Never Gonna Give You UpRick Astley · 1987
The oldest joke on the internet. Exactly one kind of sister still finds it funny and you know if yours does.
- Old ManNeil Young · 1972
For a sister being dramatic about turning thirty. Deniable, because it is a great song.
- Good as HellLizzo · 2016
Cheerful, loud, and it will be taken exactly as intended.
- The BestTina Turner · 1989
Unsubtle to the point of being funny, and completely sincere underneath. The best of both.
If you do not see her enough
Different countries, different lives, two phone calls a year. These say the thing without requiring a conversation.
- Somewhere Only We KnowKeane · 2004
About a place only two people remember. For sisters whose shared world is a house that got sold.
- Take Me Home, Country RoadsJohn Denver · 1971
For a sister who is homesick and would never say so. Works in any country.
- PhotographEd Sheeran · 2015
Send it with an old picture attached. That is the whole move and it works every time.
Written as a love song and it fits a sister two time zones away without any adjustment.
- Time of Your LifeGreen Day · 1997
Under its other name it is the graduation song. For a sister you only see at weddings now.
- I Will Follow You into the DarkDeath Cab for Cutie · 2005
One voice, one guitar, nothing dressed up. For a relationship that does not need decorating.
- Both Sides NowJoni Mitchell · 1969
For two sisters who have both changed a lot. Her 2000 recording is the one.
- LandslideFleetwood Mac · 1975
The song women send each other at every turning point, for good reason. Short and it does not overstay.
Three demonstration songs
What a song about your sister sounds like
We wrote these from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. Between sisters, the specific old grievance usually works better than the compliment — the form has room for both.
Make her 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
- Nadia for Our First DanceR&B · a first dance, written about the two of them3:18
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
- What is a good birthday song for a sister?
- “We Are Family” if you want the obvious one, and it is obvious because four actual sisters recorded it. “I’ll Stand by You” if you want to be sincere. “Sisters” from White Christmas if your family would find that funny.
- What song should a brother send his sister?
- Something warm rather than something sentimental. “Count on Me” and “Lean on Me” both work from a brother without either of you having to have a conversation about it afterwards.
- What if we are not close?
- Then do not send the sincere one — it will read as a demand for a bigger relationship than you have. Something light and specific to a shared memory says you remember without asking her for anything.
- What plays well at a sister’s 30th or 40th?
- “The Best” for the room and “Landslide” for the quiet bit. Between them they cover both halves of the evening.
- Can I get a birthday song written about my sister?
- Yes. Answer five questions about her — her name, the birthday, three things only the two of you know, the tone you want and the music she likes — and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.
Other birthday lists
Birthday songs for brotherBirthday songs for a friendBirthday songs for momMilestone birthday songsFor her, not for the birthday
Songs about sisters