The Backwards Birthday Party

The Backwards Birthday Party
by John Forster & Tom Chapin
© 1994 Limousine Music Co. & The Last Music Co. (ASCAP)

On my birthday morning the sun was sinking low.
I put my clothes on inside out
And down the stairs did go.
The house was decorated but something was awry.
The doorbell rang and all the gang
Walked in and said, “Goodbye!”
At the backwards birthday party
Where everything’s out of whack.
The backwards birthday party.
The party day birth wards back.

We ate the birthday cake first,
Which stirred up quite a fuss.
Then we blindfolded the donkey
And he pinned the tail on us.
The treasure hunt went nowhere
But no one got depressed
’Cause I wrapped up all my presents
And gave one to every guest.
At the backwards birthday party
Where everything’s out of whack.
The backwards birthday party.
The party day birth wards back.

The ice cream it was hot. The candles were not.
The longer we kept partying the earlier it got.

The clock was running backwards,
Struck 3 then 2 then 1.
My party it was winding down before it had begun.
I said, “Hello, it’s time to go!”
And pushed them
Out the door.
And I was one year younger
Than I’d been
The day before.
At the backwards birthday party
Where everything’s out of whack.
The backwards birthday party.
The party day birth wards back.
The party day
Birth wards
Back.

This song appears on Tom Chapin's Zag Zig CD.

Return to Home Page

Send comments to info@tomchapin.com