Today is the fourth Thursday of November, which means it is the day that the United States gives thanks for the fruits of its harvests, thinks about their family and indulges in some serious overeating.
What many people might not be aware of, is that it is also celebrated in other countries too, though not necessarily on the same day. Canada goes in early, giving their thanks on the second Monday of October, while Germany is even earlier, going for it on the first Sunday of October. But, did you know that Liberia (West Africa( also celebrate Thanksgiving - on the first Thursday of November? And little old Norfolk Island (Australian territory out in the Pacific) hosts theirs on the last Wednesday of November!
Wow, all those Thanksgiving facts are making me hungry.....
But while I think about eating some turkey and stuffing, I will need some tunes to keep me going. In the spirit of tenuousness that we love on this site, here are ten songs that are all about 'thanks'!
1. Alanis Morissette: Thank U
This one comes from Morissette's fourth album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, and was actually her highest charting single in the UK, reaching #5 (although Ironic sold more). It was written, with a number of other songs on the album, in a trip to India in 1997, as she tried to take stock of what had been a crazy period in her life. She told MTV in 1998, "When I did stop and I was silent and I breathed... I was just left with an immense amount of gratitude and inspiration and love and bliss, and that's where the song came from."
(Official music video)
2. The Beatles: Thank You Girl
This lesser known Lennon-McCartney tune from the early years, was the B-Side to From Me To You with both being recorded in one session in March 1963. It was also used as the B-Side to Do You Want To Know A Secret, when that was released in the US in 1964 (it had already been a hit for Billy J Kramer by that point). It was written as a tribute to their large number of female fans, although it seems that John and Paul both considered it to be a bit of a throwaway song, that they didn't invest much time in writing - but it is a catchy little bit of rock n roll, nonetheless.
(Audio, live at the BBC [Easy Beat], 1963)
3. Earth, Wind & Fire: Gratitude
We are going to turn the funk up to 11 now - and while the song title doesn't actually say thank you, the band make up for it with the "Wanna thank you, yeah" refrain. It was one of a handful of newly written songs that were added to the end of their 1975 double live album, also called Gratitude
(Live in Oakland, 1981)
4. Led Zeppelin: Thank You
"If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. When the mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me." Aaah - this masterpiece, one of the great love songs of all, was on 1969s Led Zeppelin II and was Zepp at their quieter and more reflective, producing a nice counterpoint to all that hard rock, especially through John Paul Jones use of the Hammond organ. Legendary producer Rick Rubin said of it, that "the delicacy of the vocals is incredible: the acoustic guitar and the organ work together to create an otherworldly presence."
(Live version from Plant and Page)
5. FKA Twigs: Thank You Song
FKA Twigs (Tahliah Barnett) is from leafy Gloucestershire, and was already developing a reputation for avant-garde electronica, rap and R&B, when she released her 2022 mixtape, called Caprisongs. This collection of music though, saw her move away from the experimental and towards the mainstream. Thank You Song saw her collaborate with Venezuelan artist and producer, Arca, on this delicate, stripped back pop song.
(Official music video)
6. Beastie Boys: Gratitude
The second song with the same title, this one a bit less funky than the first, but with plenty of the rock-rap crossover that the Beastie Boys did so well - this time with a decent dose of late 60s psych-rock. Gratitude became the fourth single released from third album, Check Your Head, in 1992. It is perhaps notable for the video, which was a homage to Pink Floyd's Live At Pompeii video of the early 70s, although their version was shot in Rotorua, New Zealand.
(Official music video)
7. John Denver: Thank God I'm A Country Boy
What else would you follow the Beastie's with but a bit of John Denver!? This, perhaps one of his most famous songs, was actually written by John Martin Sommers, a member of his backing band. It featured on 1974s Back Home Again, with a live version appearing on An Evening With John Denver the following year. The live one was also released as a single, reaching the top of the US charts.
(Live, from Around The World Live)
8. Natalie Merchant: Kind & Generous
The title suggests gratitude and that is backed up by the lyrics, with the oft repeated line, "I want to thank you for your generosity." It was considered to be the first single from Merchant's second solo album, Ophelia (1998), but because it was not released in a hard format, it never charted. She would tell VH1 Storytellers: "I am proud of the song because I always wanted to write a song that had an extremely universal, simple sentiment. And just gratitude, that's all this song is about and really I feel like I accomplished my mission: simple, to the point."
(Official video)
9. Big Star: Thank You Friends
The song was recorded for 1974s Third album (also the bands third album), which ended up being shelved due to its relatively uncommercial content (according to the label), and also because remaining founding members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens had lost interest in the project, with the band splitting (Chilton was suffering from major mental health issues). It would finally get released in 1978 and went on to be a cult favourite amongst Big Stars fans, which included a lot of key 80s bands like REM and The Replacements. After the big pop melodies of the first two albums (#1 Album and Radio City), biographer Bruce Eaton would go on to describe it as, "a batch of starkly personal, often experimental and turns beautiful and haunting songs that were anything but straight up power pop."
(Live in Missouri, 1993, on one of their reformation tours)
10. Violetta Parra: Gracias a la Vida
This tender, simple folk song from 1966, is one of the most famous by Chilean singer Violetta Parra and translates as Thanks To Life. It featured on Las Ultimas Composiciones, Parra's last album before her untimely death in 1967. A 1971 version by popular Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa, helped spread its popularity across the Spanish speaking world, while another cover in 1974, this time by Joan Baez, introduced it to the American market. Many further covers, including a 2021 version by country star Kacey Musgraves, make it one of the most covered Latin songs of all time.
(Audio only)