Happy Birthday
Current 93 Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

In menstrual night
When red is black
And Christus crawls
From Mary's crack
Wrapped in tatters
And flailing in mud
Child defiled
With tears and blood
Pigface Christus is born
Pigface Christus is born

In menstrual night
When red is black
And darkness crawls
Out of the crack

Some were born
In fields of mourning
Some were ripped
In fields of rape
Some bowed down
In echoed splendour
All were torn
In fields of tears

Crushed by church
And raped by father
Bled by mother
Torn and tearing
In scarlet playgrounds
On iron railways
Christ's pale body
Crucified

Time was
Time is
Time shall be no more

Some with tears
And some with laughter
Some in sadness
All in vain
In fields fresh crippled
The glint of sickles
The scars of sunset
The sund of reaping

You and I
On threshing floors
Lost and losing
Parched and preying
All have numbers
None have names

Here open the gates of heaven
Here open the gates of hell

Time was




Time is
Time shall be no more

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Current 93's song Happy Birthday are, in many ways, an anthem of the human experience – one that speaks of the pain, suffering, and loss that are common to all people, regardless of their backgrounds or circumstances. The song is a mournful meditation on the fragility of life and the inevitability of death, set against a backdrop of ritualistic and religious imagery that is both haunting and beautiful.


The song begins with an image of Christus emerging from Mary's "crack," covered in tattered rags and mud, defiled with tears and blood. This visceral and almost primitive depiction of the birth of Jesus is meant to underscore the violence and suffering that is inherent to human existence, as well as the paradoxical nature of the Christian faith, which simultaneously celebrates and mourns Christ's crucifixion.


The rest of the song continues in this vein, painting a picture of a world in which pain and loss are constant, and joy and happiness are fleeting at best. The imagery is often dark and disturbing, invoking images of rape, abuse, and violence. But there is also a sense of hope and redemption running throughout the lyrics, a sense that even in the midst of all this suffering, there is still beauty and goodness to be found.


Overall, Happy Birthday is a powerful and haunting testament to the human experience, a meditation on the fragility and beauty of life, and a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is still hope.


Line by Line Meaning

In menstrual night
During a dark, bloody and mystical night


When red is black
When blood becomes symbolic of darkness and mystery


And Christus crawls
The figure of Christ is creeping, crawling and approaching the world


From Mary's crack
From Mary's womb, where Christ is born amidst traditional imagery of childbirth, which becomes a symbol of visceral and painful birth of the unknown


Wrapped in tatters
Born in poor, scant and ragged clothes


And flailing in mud
And struggling in mud, as a metaphor of life's challenges and difficulties


Child defiled
The baby is dirty and scarred, tainting the purity of birth


With tears and blood
With visible signs of pain, suffering and vulnerability


Pigface Christus is born
But despite its defiled state, the arrival of Christ is celebrated, even if it departs from traditional iconography and presents a subject rarely seen in art.


In darkness crawls out of the crack
Out of darkness and obscurity, emerges an unknown, uncomfortable and strange new world


Some were born in fields of mourning
Some are born into the cruelty and sadness of life


Some were ripped in fields of rape
Others are taken advantage of and exploited at the hands of abusers


Some bowed down in echoed splendour
Some suffer in silence and are crushed under the weight of societal expectations and norms


All were torn in fields of tears
All endure suffering, pain and conflicted emotions from living in an unsympathetic world


Crushed by church and raped by Father
The religious institution can be both a refuge and a tormentor, while the figure of the Father can be both protector and violator


Bled by mother, torn and tearing
Maternal figures can also cause pain and be victim to torment


In scarlet playgrounds on iron railways
In places of violence such as battlefields and railway stations,


Christ's pale body crucified
The figure of Christ is being represented in a particularly gruesome, violent and unsettling way


Some with tears and some with laughter
There are people who experience joy and sorrow


Some in sadness, all in vain
Most experiences of sadness feel useless and futile


In fields fresh crippled
In fresh fields, there is no escape from harm, pain or death


The glint of sickles, the scars of sunset
The end of the cycle of life, depicted as a harvest in a field of wheat, also brings blood and violence


The sound of reaping
The reaping brings physical violence, but also a metaphorical end


You and I on threshing floors
People are enduring and influenced by the same fate, regardless of individual differences


Lost and losing, parched and preying
People are lost, marginalised, hungry and vulnerable


All have numbers, none have names
People are not individuals, occupying the same roles as anonymous others in seemingly endless cycles of suffering


Here open the gates of heaven
The song suggests that even in the midst of darkness and suffering, that there is a path to transcendent happiness and achievement


Here open the gates of hell
However, the path to transcendent transcendence may be precarious and fraught with danger


Time was, time is, time shall be no more
The song ends with a final warning that we are all ultimately subject to the transience of time and inevitable endings, and must navigate our existence within the framework of this awareness.




Contributed by Mackenzie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

peterabelard

In the booklet of "SixSixSix:SickSickSick", where the studio material from Looney Runes is featured, David wrote: "I have removed the live material recorded in Tokyo in 1988 as I do not wish to listen to it ever again". That's sad, because this track is awesome.

Andrew Taylor

it's too bad this was never more widely or album released, i believe it's easily one of c93's best songs ever. much better than their more recent xtian drivel.

armeurh

Tony Wakeford on drums ? Rose and David are great !

Andrea Fiori

Simply the best esoteric dark wave band of all time.

Rob

I'm still mesmerized as to how David managed to join Doug and Tony in his band. :D

AntiMusick

this song was only released on a 12" record and never released on an album but a live version on 'Looney Runes', and the 12" made it on to a 1993 retrospective release called 'Emblems: The Menstrual Years'

Jhane Doe

rose mcdowell is a goddess and she does sing her lungs up t0 the moon!

Engel Lenoir Frederic

time was ! time is ! time shall be no more ! fabuleux !

Hexe Frau

my favorite c93 song!

Iñigo Angulo

I JUST LOVE THAT GIRL.

More Comments

More Versions