“Happy Birthday to You” is the most popular song in the English-speaking world, and perhaps the whole world, too. For nearly a century, this simple melody has been the traditional piece of music sung to Birthday millions of birthday celebrants every year. It therefore surprises many to discover that this simple song, a six-note melody composed in the 19th century and accompanied by a six-word set of repetitive lyrics, is still protected by copyright — and will be for decades to come.
The melody for Happy Birthday was first penned by two sisters from Kentucky, Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill. The song was called “Good Morning to All”, but bore the recognizable melody. The tune was first published in 1893 in the book Song Stories for the Kindergarten. The melody has since passed into the public domain, and is safe to hum in public without permission.
While it is not entirely clear who first wrote down the words for Happy Birthday, it showed up in a few places before Jessica Hill (another Hill sister) was able to demonstrate undeniable similarities between Good Morning to All and Happy Birthday and to secure the copyright to the song.
The original song was copyrighted by the sisters in 1935.

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