When my friend Josh turned 35 last week, a coworker organized a small surprise party at the end of the day. We all gathered in one of the offices, sent Josh an email about a “meeting,” and yelled “surprise!” as he came in. We handed him a Great Lakes IPA, and it was all thoughtful and fun.
That is, until a coworker, Lauren, felt compelled to say those five dreaded words: “Should we sing happy birthday?”
The group froze. The idea floated uncomfortably in the ether, like public flatulence that no one wanted to acknowledge. After all, nobody wanted to be the curmudgeon who said, “No, let’s not sing Josh the ‘Happy Birthday’ song.” And so, before anyone had a chance to be the voice of reason, Lauren buckled under the growing pressure of her own suggestion and began piping out the first few words: “Happy birthday to you….”
At that point, leaving Lauren on her own would have been a cardinal insult to both her and Josh. Realizing no one else wanted to recite “Happy Birthday,” she would have been forced to either trail off after one verse (bad) or sing the entire thing solo (worse).
So, like the many European nations drawn into World War I because of a single person’s poor decision and a cascading set of alliances, our group was unwittingly dragged into singing “Happy Birthday.”
This scene wasn’t unique. It plays out every day in offices, homes, restaurants, and parties across the country. In fact, many experts believe that “Happy Birthday to You” is the best-known and most-frequently sung song in the world.
via Pacific Standard
March 4, 2014
