The reason the ‘Happy Birthday’ song is uncomfortable and awkward to sing

A popular TikTok user has explained why singing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song in English is so uncomfortable and awkward for everyone involved.

The man, who goes by the username @iamsbeih, argues the song lacks beat and energy. 

Sbeih gave a rendition of the ‘Happy Birthday’ song in English and then in Arabic to demonstrate the difference in energy.

‘You know why singing Happy Birthday is so uncomfortable for both the birthday person and for everyone else singing? It’s because there’s no beat. There’s no rhythm. It’s not engaging. I don’t know who chose to write it like that,’ explained Sbeih.

‘When my family sing the Arabic Happy Birthday, which is based on the English Happy Birthday, there’s energy, there’s life. We hold the note to give it a beat,’ he added.

‘Everybody’s clapping, everyone’s dancing. There’s someone playing a beat on a wall or a table. Even the birthday person can clap with them,’ Sbeih enthused.

‘There’s energy y’all. Energy. Usually we sing Happy Birthday first in English and it’s just.. that ain’t it. And then the Arabic part comes afterwards. You’ve got to give it a beat.’

Sbeih is a popular TikToker who often discusses the culture of his Palestinian/Filipino heritage. He has 449,000 followers on the platform.

In many countries across the world the Happy Birthday song features similar lyrics to the English version, but is sung in different languages.

Sbeih is singing the Arabic version of Happy Birthday in this song, which he contends has a lot more energy and beat and is therefore less uncomfortable to sing.

People from across the world commented on the post. Many outlined that the song in their language is also more energetic and comfortable.

‘Same goes for the Spanish version and the remixes,’ one woman said.

‘Same with Latinos, we have our own adornments and beat,’ another agreed.

‘Latinos version of Happy Birthday has verses and even jokes in the song, and there’s always an aunt dancing,’ one woman added.

‘Check out the Persian version’ one user suggested, another advised listening to the Venezuelan version.

Many users agreed the Happy Birthday song in English is uncomfortable.

‘The Happy Birthday song in English sounds like they are offering the birthday person as a sacrifice,’ one woman said.

The majority of users loved the Arabic version of the song.

‘I’m gonna need a full version of the Arabic version,’ one woman said.