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11 Thanksgiving songs to make you forget Christmas carols

Adam Sandler sang "The Thanksgiving song" on Saturday Night Live in 1992.
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Like the other holidays, Thanksgiving is filled with traditions. Music? Not so much.

So why don’t we sing Thanksgiving carols?

Maybe because we're exhausted from all that cooking and eating and drinking and visiting and, yes, all that arguing.

Or maybe because there isn’t a cornucopia of Thanksgiving songs.

When we asked readers to name some for us, many mentioned three.

What came as a surprise -- beyond the fact that “Jingle Bells” was written as a Thanksgiving song -- is that Thanksgiving has many more tunes than you might think. Here are the top 12.

One is "The Thanksgiving Song" by Adam Sandler.

The song, which debuted on Saturday Night Live in 1992, includes lyrics about loving turkey and gravy and cranberries and mentions Sammy Davis Jr., corduroy pants, the Mets and masturbation. Rolling Stone called it a “holiday classic.”

'The Thanksgiving Song'

Another song, which mentions exactly none of the above, is “Over the River and Through the Woods.” It originated from a poem written in 1844 titled "A Boy's Thanksgiving Day,” and includes the phrase “Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day," according to “Hymns and Carols of Christmas."

Modern versions of the song change the references to Christmas. One version recorded by Danny Kaye and the Andrew Sisters was renamed "A Merry Christmas at Grandmother's House (Over the River and Through the Woods)."

'Over the River and Through the Woods'

The third most popular turkey day song? The lengthy Arlo Guthrie song “Alice’s Restaurant.”

It stemmed from Guthrie’s arrest in a 1965 Thanksgiving trash dumping incident that ultimately kept him out of the Vietnam war and is traditionally played nationwide on public radio every year.

'Alice's Restaurant'

For those who can't stand that standard, our list includes these eight other songs.

'Food, Glorious Food.'

This heartwarming song done to the tune of the William Tell Overture mentions something we are all grateful for on Thanksgiving. Green bean casserole you say? No, stretchy pants.


Then we have the world famous "Turkey Song" by Dickie Stickhead that includes a nifty dance and the line "Wouldn't you rather have a steak?"


You've got this sweet Thanksgiving prayer that Johnny Cash sang to his wife June Carter Cash in a 1994 episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."


And this lovely 2008 song from Mary Chapin Carpenter.


Let us not forget "The Turkey Song" by Bryant Oden that says "We're all thankful for this day except for the turkey, la la la la la la la la la la."


And this offering from Animation Domination sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells," that features the line, "Grandma wants to watch the news and complain about your uncle."


Then there's the latest from the Holderness family of Internet videos fame, singing about a very important Thanksgiving tradition, namely, basting with butter, with some butter on the side.


Last but not least, here is a song from the musical "Oliver," included in a Thanksgiving song list by the Daily Herald because "Nothing makes you more grateful for your impending feast than a bunch of starved orphans who get nothing more than gruel for each meal."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

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