Parabéns a Você, commonly known as Parabéns para Você or Parabéns pra Você in Brazil, is the title of the Portuguese version of the popular English language song, Happy Birthday to you. It is traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday in countries where Portuguese is an official language. The lyrics were written by Berta Celeste, a Brazilian poet, in 1942. [1]
History
The traditional English language song, Happy Birthday to you, arrived in Brazil in the 1930s, where it would be sung, in English, at birthday parties. In 1942 the singer Almirante (Henrique Foréis Domingues), a Rádio Tupi presenter in Rio de Janeiro, launched a competition to select Portuguese lyrics to the melody of Happy Birthday to you. The winning entry took five minutes to write, and was written by Berta Celeste from Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo. [1]
Lyrics
Until her death in 1999, Berta Celeste insisted that the lyrics be sung as she wrote them. However the lyrics that are most commonly sung in Brazil are slightly different from the original, and it is also customary to add a second, unofficial verse. [2]
É pique, é pique. É pique, é pique, é pique! |
Copyright
While the English language version of the song is in the public domain, [4] the Escritório Central de Arrecadação e Distribuição still collects royalties for the Portuguese song on behalf of the descendents of Berta Celeste. [5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Max Gehringer (October 31, 2016). "Bertha Celeste: a autora do "Parabéns a você"" (in Portuguese). Revista Superinteressante.
- ^ Felipe Branco Cruz (January 26, 2015). "Música mais tocada no Brasil, "Parabéns a Você" é cantada errado". musica.uol.com.br (in Portuguese).
- ^ "Birthday Vocabulary and the Brazilian Birthday Song – with Video". streetsmartbrazil.com. April 20, 2010.
- ^ Christine Mai-Duc (September 22, 2015). "'Happy Birthday' Song Copyright Is Not Valid, Judge Rules". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ Rafael Barifouse (September 23, 2015). "'Parabéns a Você' segue protegida mesmo após canção original cair em domínio público nos EUA" (in Portuguese). BBC Brasil.