A Birthday Song that Warms the Heart
by LJ Ortega - February 16, 2009
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| Corrinne May |
My friend gave me a Corrinne May CD for my birthday the other day, and the gift came with a touching note on how she wanted to dedicate one track, “The Birthday Song,” to me because it spoke so much of how she appreciated our friendship and the good wishes she wanted to send my way.
Aside from being moved by this sweet gesture, I was a little surprised that my friend somehow sensed that I was in a ballad-listening mode lately. I have recently discovered Corrinne May’s music online and “The Birthday Song” is one of her works that really caught my interest.
The first Corrinne May song I heard online was the song “On the Side of Me” and I was instantly awed by the rich piano and acoustic guitar textures of the song as well as Corrinne May’s heartwarming, emotive voice. As I listened to more of her songs, I found myself repeating “The Birthday Song” until I could sing the entire chorus from memory.
“The Birthday Song” is a captivating and comforting song one can dedicate or sing to a friend who dreads the thought of growing another year older on his birthday. It starts with the line “Don’t worry about that extra line that’s creeping up upon your face.” But what I think is the most poignant and profound part of the song is where Corrinne May croons “Every year we’re getting closer to who we’re going to be. It’s time to celebrate the story of how you’ve come to be.”
The chorus of “The Birthday Song” sings of greeting a friend a happy birthday, wishing for all his dreams to come true, and giving a lasting tribute to so many precious years of friendship. I’m actually learning to play the song on my guitar so I could sing it to a friend whose birthday is coming up. I found a site that provided the simplified guitar chords to the song and I’m also searching YouTube for a possible guitar strumming or plucking video guide. The song is really a perfect birthday gift, and I couldn’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be touched by its heartwarming lyrics.
The Corrinne May CD my friend gave me is the “Safe in a Crazy World” album. Along with “The Birthday Song,” the album also includes the equally mesmerizing tracks “Little Superhero Girl,” “Save Me,” “Free,” “Everything in its Time,” the album’s title song “Safe in a Crazy World,” “Let it Go,” “Angel in Disguise,” If I Kissed You,” “Every Beat of My Heart,” and the radio edit version of “Free.”
A Singaporean pianist, singer-songwriter who is now based in Los Angeles, Corrinne May is said to be Singapore’s answer to Sarah McLachlan. She was classically trained as a pianist, training from the age of five and winning her first songwriting competition at 15. After honing her passion for songwriting and film scoring at the Berklee College of music in Boston and graduating with a Bachelor of music degree, she moved to Los Angeles and immersed herself in the Indie scene by playing in several Hollywood hot spots such as Highland Grounds, The Mint and Genghis Cohen.
Corrinne May has won several awards for her music, including the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Award in 2001. She also engaged in a songwriting collaboration with legendary singer-songwriters Carole King and Carole Bayer Sager, which resulted in the piano ballad “If You Didn’t Love Me.”
Aside from “Safe in a Crazy World,” which was released in 2005, Corrinne May’s other albums include the self-titled bebut album “Corrinne May,” and her most recent “Beautiful Seed.”
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