Birthday (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the song by The Beatles. For the old-fashioned birthday song, see Happy Birthday to You.
| "Birthday" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Song by The Beatles | ||
| from the album The Beatles | ||
| Released | 22 November 1968 | |
| Recorded | 18 September 1968 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 2:42 | |
| Label | Apple Records | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon-McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| The Beatles track listing | ||
| Julia (17 of disc 1) |
"Birthday" (1 of disc 2) |
Yer Blues (2 of disc 2) |
"Birthday" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (though largely the work of McCartney) and performed by The Beatles on The White Album. It is the opening track on the "third side" of the LP (or the second disc in CD versions of the record). This song is a prime example of the Beatles' return to more traditional rock and roll form, although their music had increased in complexity and it had developed more of its own characteristic style by this point.
"Birthday" begins with a blues progression in A (in the form of a guitar riff doubled by the bass) with Paul singing at the top of his chest voice, "They say it's your birthday/ Well it's my birthday too, yeah!" Afterwards, a drum break lasting eight measures brings the song into Lennon's section, which rests entirely on the dominant before returning to a third section, sung by McCartney. It is among the latter's most intense vocal performances due to the range in which he sings during the blues run. The female backing vocals that sing the "birthday" were performed by Yoko Ono, Linda Eastman and Patti Harrison.
