Here's one more thing to be grateful for—a playlist 21 classic songs that set the tone for the big holiday get-together.
"Home, where my music's playing / Home, where my love lies waiting silently for me"
Well, maybe not "silently." But home is where the heart is, as this song makes clear. The turkey and trimmings are just a nice bonus.
"If I didn't love I (love I) / Would I be around today? / Would I be around to say / Give thanks and praises"
The high priest of Rastafari and reggae urges his disciples to count their blessings.
"Life used to be so hard / Now everything is easy 'cause of you"
Fresh flowers, a new vase and a cozy fire spark the warmth that every family should be so lucky to experience at Thanksgiving and always.
"We are family / Get up everybody and sing"
This Top 10 hit celebrating the upside of family life was written by Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards for four singing sisters whose last name really is Sledge. Adopted as the theme song of the 1979 World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates, it's a wonder that this rallying cry of solidarity hasn't become the official dinner table anthem of families everywhere at Thanksgiving.
"All these places have their moments / With lovers and friends I still can recall / Some are dead and some are living / In my life, I've loved them all"
Thanksgiving, like New Year's Eve, is the perfect time to reflect on the past, plan for the future and live in the moment. John Lennon called this nostalgic ballad about his childhood "my first real major piece of work." Fellow Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all hailed it as one of the band's best songs.
The jazz pianist best known for the joyous "Linus and Lucy" from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" cooks up another tasty ditty for a distinctly American holiday. It was indeed the theme of 1973's "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."
"You'll find this dance is so cool to do / Come on, baby, gonna teach it to you"
The self-proclaimed "latest" and "greatest" novelty song was inspired by 1962's Mashed Potato dance craze, a variation of the Twist. James Brown started it all with his moves to 1959's "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes," an instrumental credited to Nat Kendrick and the Swans. Sharp's hit, which featured shout-outs to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Please Mr. Postman," proved to be no turkey, climbing to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"I used to think that you were really cool / I used to think that you never would be nobody's fool / Let me tell you, baby, you're a jive turkey"
Carving up faithless love, with a heaping serving of snark and "See ya" on the side.
"Softer than a lullabye / Deeper than the midnight sky / Soulful as a baby's cry / My sweet potato pie"
Singing the praises of the most delicious dish you've every laid eyes on: the love of your life.
"Magical food, wonderful food / Marvelous food, beautiful food / Food, glorious food, glorious food"
Goodbye, gruel world! The opening song of the hit play turned movie musical "Oliver!" is an orphanage fantasy about the kind of feast that Thanksgiving is all about. Audiences have been eating it up for nearly 60 years.
"Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie / Soon your love will be all mine"
Like yet another Thanksgiving and holiday season, "Ready or not, here I come," croons singer Jay Proctor on this Top 10 hit from 1967 by the same band that also scored with "Keep the Ball Rollin'." Proof that sometimes the only thing on your mind is the sweet allure of just desserts.
"Grateful for each hand we hold / Gathered round this table / From far and near we travel home / Blessed that we are able"
Look beyond the heaping platters, hot dishes and bottomless cups set on the Thanksgiving table. Feast instead on the family and friends who surround you. Drink up every minute; help yourself to seconds.
"You may be in a big city or drivin' down a country lane / Workin' two jobs to make a livin' / And all you do is complain / Well, you should be thankful of what you got"
Good health, good food, good company: It's not just the stuff of a holiday banquet, it's a blessing. Give thanks on Thanksgiving.
"Meet them halfway with love, peace and persuasion / And expect them to rise for the occasion"
The best response when someone at the holiday dinner table wants to discuss the quest to Make America Great Again: "Pass the turkey."
"Say hey, good lookin' / What ya got cookin? / How's about cookin' something up with me?"
Well, ain't that a fine how-do-you-do! With a wink and a grin, the frisky 1951 country hit whets an appetite for something that's not on the traditional Thanksgiving menu.
"You wonder why I drink and curse the holidays / Blessed be my family 300 miles away"
Of course, some family get-togethers are no picnic. Leave it to the alt-country rockers to poke a hole through the holiday portrait of the typical American clan. Giving thanks for "a big tall stiff drink-full," the black-sheep narrator concludes with a toast that sounds more like an advisory: "Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is soon."
"Both kids are good to Mom / Blood's thicker than mud / It's a family affair"
With a percussive backbeat that sounds like percolating coffee, Sly sums up the ties that bind.
"Are you going on Thanksgiving Day to those family celebrations? / Passing on knowledge down through the years at the gathering of generations"
Looking forward to the annual feast while remembering those who once sat in the now-empty chairs at the table and the unknown, unfortunate souls "estranged in isolation."
"I see friends shaking hands / saying, 'How do you do' / They're really saying, 'I love you'"
Thanksgiving, like this warm chestnut, is designed to inspire feel-good moments that last a lifetime. 'Tis the season to be jolly.
"Thanksgiving Day for the rest of my life / I'm thanking the Lord he made you"
The bounty on the Thanksgiving dinner table is nice, but it's the people sitting around it who make every day a feast.
"You can get anything you want / At Alice's Restaurant"
Just in case you don't have an invite.