Thanksgiving Song makes us Gobble Gobble and need to wear our Stretchy Pants, so i’m thankful for The Thanksgiving Song!

Monday has arrived, and this week is Thanksgiving week! Man, that got here fast! Are you ready? This is one of my most favorite holidays, so I’m psyched for this week for sure! And, since it’s Monday, you know that Monday means music! This week is a freebie week, so grab your favorite tune(s) and come dance with us, won’t you? 

Let’s start with a song that is a tradition for me to share every year during this week because you simply cannot not have this song represent.

There’s so much to love about Thanksgiving: the piles of food, the expressions of gratitude, that uncle who still tries to get you to pull his finger, the four-day weekend, etc. And yet, this late November feast of gluttony is easily the most under-served among the major U.S. holidays when it comes to one important factor: its songs.

Christmas, of course, has more carols and novelty numbers than you can shake a giant candy cane at. Easter comes complete with “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” and a basket-load of hymns. Valentine’s Day has its love ballads, the Fourth of July has plenty of appropriate songs, and Halloween has the entire Danzig catalog.

Let’s face it: There’s only one Thanksgiving song deep enough to rep the multilayered joys of Turkey Day.

Here’s the ever-entertaining Adam Sandler with “Thanksgiving Song”:

Next up is a fun song from this Christian musician who has won multiple Dove Awards and an American Music Award, and was nominated for five Grammys. Sometimes fans buy tickets to his concert based on their enjoyment of this particular song, even though it’s likely it won’t ever win any honors.

The official video for the Thanksgiving-themed “silly song” was released in the fall of 2020, depicting the artist wearing a turkey outfit and dancing around a table as he sings about cranberry jelly, gravy boats, and dinner rolls. The artist began singing silly songs when he was a new artist and didn’t have a record deal. He said:

“I was an independent artist traveling around playing college campuses, and a lot of times the colleges would set me up in an area of the campus where there really wasn’t an audience. People were just walking by and so I would play my normal songs, and maybe one or two people would come. And then to try to get people’s attention, I would just start making up a song about some college kid who, you know, was stuffing doughnuts in his face or something. And the crowd would start to gather. And I always remembered that.

Over the years, as my career has progressed, I started to realize how humor can play a really important role in music.”

Musicians “can take ourselves too seriously,” and silly songs are a way to stay grounded and connected with fans. He wrote this song in honor of Thanksgiving. He says:

“I wrote it simply because it gave me and my family a much-needed laugh. I hope in its own weird way, ‘[this song]’ can put a smile on your face and remind you and your family that even in the heaviest of years we have much to be thankful for.”

Give a listen to Matthew West with “Gobble Gobble”:

Next up is another song that will no doubt be a tradition to share each year, from one of my favorite artists (an American Idol Alum). This one definitely makes me giggle each time I listen to it, I know you will giggle, too!

Here’s the amazing Carrie Underwood with “Stretchy Pants”:

Last, but certainly not least, is a song from this artist’s holiday-themed album he released 3 years ago (Nov 13, 2020). This song is the only original song on this album. He said:

“I wanted to give it a chance to get out into the world before the rest of the record, and hopefully give people a little more time to hear and enjoy it. I also wanted to give Christmas music purists [like my wife Hillary] who want to save Christmas music until after Thanksgiving something to listen to and get in the holiday spirit.”

For the artist, who has three kids total (a daughter, 6, and twin boys, 3 — the holidays are an important time for them to bond and create new traditions. The whimsical lyric video for the song, which perfectly encapsulates all the warm feelings of the holiday as the tune’s lyrics splash across various Thanksgiving scenes, was a team effort.

“My team and I all felt like the song was really special, and we knew we wanted to make a video for it. But between just my wife and I just having had twins, COVID, and the short timeframe we had to work with, the likelihood of pulling off an entire music video that would do the song justice felt super unlikely.”

So a member of his team came up with the idea to create the fun lyric video, which the artist and his crew were so happy they decided to do.

Without further ado, here’s Ben Rector with “The Thanksgiving Song”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday! See you on the dance floor!

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Now onto the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!