How to Turn a Song Into a 40th Birthday Invitation

40th birthday song invitations may help make a 40th birthday more memorable.

40th birthday party invitations should be humorous and make light of the fact that the birthday celebratrant has turned 40. Turning a popular song into an invitation for a 40th party requires some careful thinking and word skills. You should understand the basics of writing lyrics, including how to write to rhythm and melodies. Many people should be able to do this by ear, though. Write your invitation ideas down and sing them to friends to get a gauge on the humor of each lyric.

Instructions

1. Pick a song that you and your friends are familiar with and find the lyrics online. Print out the lyrics and use them as a guide while you write your invitation.

2. Listen to the song a few times on your CD player to get a feel for the rhythm and melodies of the song. Pay attention to the rhymes.

3. Write down lyric ideas as you listen, focusing on the idea of the 40th birthday party. Jot down ideas as they come but don't be afraid to eliminate ideas as you go. Avoid sticking to your first ideas, as these are often brainstorming ideas.

4. Continue listening to the song and writing lyrics until you come up with a coherent idea for your invitation. For example, you could focus on the idea of turning 40 and getting "over the hill" or the idea of "gray hairs."

5. Write lyric lines that are similar to the lines from your song and which feature rhymes that carefully match the song. For example, parody the lines "it's getting near dawn/when lights close their tired eyes" from the song "Sunshine of your Love" with "your hair isn't dark/it's getting light to my eyes."

6. Continue writing lyrics until you have finished the whole song. Try to tell a coherent story and message with the lyrics. For example, the next line in "Sunshine of Your Love" is "I'll soon be with you my love/to give you my dawn surprise." Parody this line with the line you wrote earlier as "I'll soon be dying mine too/a nasty birthday surprise."

7. Integrate the time, place and address into the invitation. For example, the next lines of "Sunshine of Your Love" are "I'll be with your darling soon/I'll be with you when the stars start falling." Write something like "You'll be with us Thursday soon/five o'clock to seven thirty party."

8. Sing the lyrics to yourself while listening to the melody of the song. Edit your lyrics to fit in better with the song's rhymes, rhythm and melodies. Share the lyrics with friends to see what they think before you finalize the invitation wording.

References

• Cards Shoppe: Birthday Invitations Wording Ideas
• Am I Right: Parody Song Writing Tips