Las Mañanitas
"Las Mañanitas" is a traditional Mexican birthday song written by Mexican composer Alfonso Esparza Oteo. It is popular in Mexico, usually sung early in the morning to awaken the birthday person, and especially as part of the custom of serenading women. A famous rendition of "Las Mañanitas" is sung by Pedro Infante to "Chachita" in the movie Nosotros los pobres. It is also sung in English in The Leopard Man.
Lyrics
Often when sung instead of played from a recording, “mi bien” is replaced with the name of the person being greeted, e.g. “Despierta, Jacob, despierta, mira que ya amaneció”. Monosyllabic names are stretched across the two original notes, while longer or compound names are often elided to fit the music, such as Guadalupe or José Alberto would be sung "Josealberto", creating a diphthong in the second syllable.In some regions, the second line of the first stanza is replaced with “...a las muchachas bonitas se las cantamos aquí”. Years ago, it was custom to name a child after a patron saint whose feast fell on the day they was born.. Another secular alternative is, “hoy por ser tu cumpleaños” ''.''
The song is usually set in the key of A major at a time signature at the first 2 stanzas with tempos between 90 and 100 beats per minute, then shifts to a time signature for the rest of the song.