Happy, Happy, Birthday

20 Years Ago on FITK

One distinguishing feature of Minnesota culture is the fact that there is a ‘special’ Happy Birthday song.

Not the usual Happy Birthday To You song, but one with a completely different tune and lyric. It was always amusing when an ‘outsider’ attends a birthday party here for the first time and everyone sings THE OTHER song. It was written by Jim Robbins and popularized by the late Roger Awsumb, who was the host of a children's television show Lunch With Casey, wherein he portrayed the legendary train conductor Casey Jones. ‘Casey’ would take time out from his job as a busy railroad engineer to have a video-lunch with the children of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St.Paul) metro area. He would usually have a sandwich, perhaps some soup, and finish it all off with a Hostess Twinkie® or a Hostess Cupcake® (Hostess Bakery was a sponsor of the show).

At the end of the show he would scroll a list of all the children who sent in their birth dates, while this song played in the background:

Happy happy birthday
to every girl and boy.
Hope this very special day
brings you lots of joy.

Hope this birthday presents
you get from Mom and Dad
will make this very special day
the best you ever had

Happy Birthday!