Thanks Songs

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Looking back, I’ve found that I have posted something to mark Thanksgiving Day for each of the past ten years. It isn’t something we celebrate here but many of those who read this blog do, and it seems only right that I should respect and mark today, as it is your big day. I have in the past explained how it all began but it doesn’t really feel right that a Brit should be pontificating on that: but if you want to know this Wikipedia page tells you everything about it.

As you might expect, my usual method of commemoration is by playing a few tunes. All but one of these have been a part of my roster before: most of them aren’t specifically about Thanksgiving Day but they have an element of thanks and joy about them, and the sentiments they express are apt for today. This first one isn’t a thank you as such, but it feels right. I played it for the first time in 2022 and did so again last year. It is about families, memories, and what our childhood home can mean to us. This is, I think, perfect for a family get together to share, to reminisce, and to remember those who may no longer be with us:

The House That Built Me was the third single to be released from Miranda Lambert’s third album, Revolution: it was the first single of hers that she hadn’t been involved in writing, as it was by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin, and reflects the latter’s annual trips back to the house in which he grew up. The video was shot in a house which looks very much like the one in which Miranda was raised, and the scenes there are interspersed with old home movie clips from her childhood. Call me an old softie, but this one really gives me the feels, and it seems a really good way to start this set.

This next one is here for its debut with me. Again, it isn’t about today, but is a song about being thankful for the things in life that make you happy – including surviving! If you can’t be happy for Thanksgiving, when can you? The video quality isn’t great, but it is fun so I thought it worth a shot. And you can play ‘spot the guest’ while you watch:

I’m Alive was the opening track on The Hooters’ sixth album, Time Stand Still, released in September 2007 in Europe and February 2008 in the US. It was their first album in fourteen years, though they had been touring and playing concerts in the interim, after a six year hiatus. The track was released as a single but neither that or the album made the charts anywhere, as far as I can tell. That seems a shame, as they clearly still had what made them so good when they started out.

Maybe I should now play some songs which actually have thank in their title? Here are some I have played a few times before, starting with one I love:

That is one of my all time favourites from one of my favourite bands. For today, all I want to say is that, as an expression of love, and of being grateful that someone is in your life, you can’t really do any better than that.

This next one is an audio only clip, for the simple reason that it is by an English folk band who I doubt many of you will know, and there isn’t a video for it. I’ve played this one a couple of times, and it always seems to me to be a great way of thanking someone for being there:

Show Of Hands are a band I’ve seen play live on multiple occasions. The long term core of the band (formed in 1986) comprises Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, and for a long time they have been joined by Miranda Sykes and, more recently, Cormac Byrne. This was the closing track on their 2012 album, Wake The Union, which achieved the unlikely feat of hitting the UK album charts, all the way up to #73. I have discussed them here, but I guess it was in a comment rather than a post, as this was the first of their songs that I had played. They are a pretty special band, as their Wikipedia entry tells. One of the times I saw them was on their tour promoting this album, which they kindly signed for me afterwards. This was the closing track to the album and to the show, and we all left in good spirits after it, feeling suitably appreciated.

My final song for today is the only one that is actually about Thanksgiving Day. I guess I had to get there in the end:

I’ve played this most years and, although I know there are other songs by American singers about today, anything by Mary Chapin Carpenter is going to be high on my list, as regular readers will know. The warmth and beauty of her voice and her lyrics give me comfort, and the video that someone has made for this song is a perfect fit. You can find this one on MCC’s 2008 album Come Darkness, Come Light, a fabulous collection of songs for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year: highly recommended, and you will hear more from it next month, as always.

In closing, I can’t think of a better way than what I said last year: wherever you are, if you are celebrating today I send you my best wishes for a wonderful day, hopefully spent in the company of those you love.

Enjoy your very special Thanksgiving Day. As Snoopy says:

 

44 thoughts on “Thanks Songs”

    • You’re welcome for Led Zep – that’s one of my favourites of theirs. I’m pleased you liked all the others too. Miranda Lambert has done next to nothing here but has been very successful in the US – this one topped their Country chart.

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  2. Thanks Clive for the Thanksgiving songs. 🙂 Touching videos and songs. Now, I want to go revisit my childhood homes. ❤ And ending with Snoopy is perfect. Had a wonderful time with family. Thankful to feeling good. Tired, but good.

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  3. Wow, Clive! All five are new to me! When I first began listening to the first one, I thought, “No way … too country for me”. But I kept listening, watching the video, and by the midpoint I was hooked … loved it! And of course I loved the one by Mary Chapin Carpenter, though I hadn’t ever heard it before. The Hooters and Led Zeppelin I can live without. But thank you for once again expanding my musical horizons!

    I enjoy Thanksgiving as a time to spend with friends and family, but the history of the holiday, its origins, are nothing to be proud of. But, it is a day to think about the things we’re most thankful for, in my case my girls and friends (and moggies). We had a lovely evening with our dear friends, the al Dabbagh family, and now I am exhausted, having spent most of the day from about 10:00 a.m. ’til 6:00 p.m. working in the kitchen! Thank you for including our holiday in your music posts!

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  4. Lots of things to be grateful for whether we celebrate Thanksgiving or not. You’ve been very active on your blog lately, Clive, with your big month of blogging is just around the corner.

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    • Indeed there are, Pete. I’ve posted a little more than usual this month, and there is still one more to come. I’m not going to be posting every day through December: I tried it differently last year and will be sticking to that. It felt too pressured doing it every day, and that stopped me taking part in Song Lyric Sunday, which I really enjoy.

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