Thanksgiving and Music
During Turkey Season 1992, the cast members of SNL wrote comical ditties celebrating Thanksgiving. Adam Sandler and Kevin Nealon sang about, well, how much they love to eat turkey. While the farcical tune is deserving of a laugh, it does beg the question why are we so desperately lacking a zeitgeisty, autumnal canon for Thanksgiving!
When Turkey Day is over and the wheels of Capitalist Christmas begin turning, Americans will be greeted by a bevy of familiar songs by Nat King Cole, Mariah Carey, and other artists who have come to define the winter season. If we, as a culture, can agree on a set of songs that define Christmas, then surely we can agree on a set of songs that define Thanksgiving.
Of course, one might fill in the sonic emptiness with songs that speak to the spirit of gratitude. Bob Marley’s “Give Thanks and Praises” comes to mind. Perhaps The High Women’s “Crowded Table,” a song about wanting to be surrounded by love and friendship could also make its way onto a Thanksgiving soundtrack. And then, there’s always Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Thanksgiving Theme from “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” to inspire a sense of autumnal celebration.
Perhaps, our lack of musical material speaks to an artistic disfavor with the historical trends that underpin Thanksgiving: a dislocation of Native Americans from ancestral land, centuries of genocide in the pursuit of American manifest destiny. A historical fact finding mission makes it difficult to dress up Thanksgiving with feel good cheer. Given the circumstances, perhaps we can consider the lack of Thanksgiving music is blessing as we are not lulled into disregarding history.
Thanksgiving, despite its very Americanness, is a music-less holiday—a rarity in our culture. This Thanksgiving I’d like you to consider why that is? Consider if it’s a good thing or a bad thing or simply neutral? And, if it is a problem, is it one worth rectifying?
