Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill · Key of G · Public domain
Opens in the Chord Sheet Maker: transpose to your key, change chords, add strumming patterns, or print a clean copy. No account needed to start.
The most-sung song in the English language started in a Louisville kindergarten. In 1893 the sisters Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill published the melody as "Good Morning to All" in their collection Song Stories for the Kindergarten, a greeting song for the start of the school day. Nobody knows exactly who first swapped in the birthday words; they simply appeared wherever there was cake, and by the 1920s the birthday version was everywhere.
For decades the song then led a strange double life: sung freely at every party on earth, yet claimed under copyright, with the publisher Warner/Chappell collecting an estimated two million dollars a year in licensing fees. That ended in 2016, when a federal court case concluded with the song declared public domain in the United States. So yes, you can play it, print it, and perform it anywhere, and this chart is here so you are ready the next time someone carries in the candles.
Three chords and one small trick. The song starts on a pickup: the word "Happy" comes just before the downbeat, and the first full beat lands on "birth-day." It is in 3/4, so give it a little waltz lilt. The G version uses G, D7, G7, and C; the C version below it sits lower for most singing voices and uses C, G7, C7, and F. Whichever you choose, land the last line with a slight slow-down and let the final chord ring while everyone claps.
Want to play it fancy? Try the Happy Birthday spread triads guitar tab
Further reading: Happy Birthday Is Officially Public Domain (Smithsonian Magazine)
