A moving song about abortion was written by a Black rapper who sings Happy Birthday on the day the child would have been born.
Flipsyde is a rap group which started in 2003 out of Oakland, California and features Piper (MC), Steve Knight (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar) & Dave Lopez (Lead Guitar).
In 2005, Flipsyde released the song “Happy Birthday” on their album We the People and it became a top 3 hit.
The song is an emotional tribute to the child that Flipsyde member, Piper lost through an abortion. Although abortion is not used in the lyrics, Flipsyde member Sharpe told Hip Hop Club that when they were writing the song the group was “talking about abortion and it would have been the kids birthday and Piper just happened to write the song,” he said.
From the beginning the song grabs your emotions, showing an empty children’s swing with Piper peering threw a gate and singing, “Happy Birthday…so make a wish.”
Piper’s next words bring home the realities of the song’s true meaning as he asks what his child would have been, “Please accept my apologies, wonder what would have been. Would you’ve been a little angel or an angel of sin? Tom-boy running around, hanging with all the guys. Or a little tough boy with beautiful brown eyes?”
And then Piper shows his regret, “I payed for the murder before they determined the sex. Choosing our life over your life meant your death. And you never got a chance to even open your eyes. Sometimes I wonder as a fetus if you fought for your life?”
He continues, “Would you have been a little genius in love with math? Would you have played in your school clothes and made me mad? Would you have been a little rapper like your papa da Piper? Would you have made me quit smoking by finding one of my lighters? I wonder about your skin tone and shape of your nose? And the way you would have laughed and talked fast or slow? I think about it every year, so I picked up a pen. Happy birthday, love you whoever you would a been Happy birthday…”
The song is not a perfect picture of regret but it does magnify how an unborn child is always a part of you even if you think you can get “rid” of a “problem.”
He continues, “I’ve got a million excuses as to why you died. And other people got their own reasons for homicide. Who’s to say it would’ve worked, and who’s to say it wouldn’t have? I was young and struggling but old enough to be a dad. The fear of being my father has never disappeared. I ponder it frequently while I’m sipping on my beer. My vision of a family was artificial and fake. So when it came time to create I made a mistake. But now you’ve got a little brother maybe it’s really you? Maybe you really forgave us knowing we were really confused? Maybe every time that he smiles its you proudly knowing that your father’s doing the right thing now?”
Piper makes it clear that he thinks about his child lost through abortion every year, “I never tell a woman what to do with her body. But if she don’t love children then we can’t party. I think about it every year, so I picked up a pen. Happy birthday, I love you whoever you would’ve been. Happy birthday…”
The chorus emphasizes Piper’s belief that abortion is a mistake, “What I thought was a dream (make a wish). Was as real as it seemed (happy birthday). What I thought was a dream (make a wish) Was as real as it seemed. I made a mistake…!“
Piper ends the song to his aborted child by singing that he hopes they will meet in Heaven one day, “From the heavens to the womb to the heavens again. From the ending to the ending, never got to begin. Maybe one day we could meet face to face in a place without time and space. Happy birthday…”
As we celebrate Black History Month, let’s remember all the All Lives Matter , even those still in the womb and targeted for abortion.
Since abortion became legal in 1973, it has reduced the Black population by almost 25%. Recent stats reveal that almost 56% of all abortions reported for race were done on minority women.
Abortion not only hurts women and men it kills a child who will never have a Happy Birthday.
LifeNews Note:Reprinted courtesy Life Dynamics.
