"Happy Birthday Dear Heartache" is a song written by Archie Jordan and

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American retired country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful mus ...

. It was released in January 1984 as the first single from the album '' Clean Cut''. The song reached number 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart.

Content

The song is a bitter observance of the one-year anniversary of a breakup, set in terms of a birthday celebration. Instead of being in a celebratory mood, however, the woman observes "how big you've (the heartbreak) has grown" and that the guests of honor are "the blues, the memories and the tears." The breakup is so bitter that she observes at the end, "Same time, same place next year."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

Songs about heartache 1984 singles Barbara Mandrell songs Songs with lyrics by Mack David Songs written by Archie Jordan Song recordings produced by Tom Collins (record producer) MCA Records singles 1984 songs {{1984-country-song-stub