Songwriters Needed

America has a heritage of great songwriters.

Long before Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Prince, and Bruce Springsteen were winning awards, George and Ira Gershwin, Dorothy Fields, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and others were producing pieces still sung today, especially by vintage rockers.  These artists wrote about romance, heartbreak, patriotism, and life.  But so far as I can tell none of those featured in the Great American Songbook collection wrote about Thanksgiving.  Oh, others have written a few novelty songs about the holiday but none from the likes of Irving Berlin—who, by the way, showed his versatility with songs about a White Christmas and an Easter Parade. For some reason, we just don’t have many songs about the fourth Thursday in November.

This explains why I was listening to Holly Jolly Christmas on Veterans’ Day.

In fairness, there is Adam Sandler’s Thanksgiving Song but, after reading the lyrics, I think I’d rather listen to “Little Drummer Boy” a dozen times in one day. In 1832, Samuel Smith mentioned “pilgrim’s pride” in My Country ‘tis of Thee but he makes no reference to the holiday they gave us (yes, it was years before Lincoln proclaimed the holiday).  Today, the term is used for a famous brand of turkey--even though the pilgrims would be dismayed at being remembered for their pride.

You won’t find references to turkeys, cranberries, or pumpkin pies but you can find songs of thanksgiving in the hymnal.

In them we are called to give thanks for God’s blessings in general and, in particular, for his creation, his grace, his faithfulness, his goodness, his salvation.

This Thursday, when our families get together, when we watch football games with all those commercials to remind us Christmas is coming, when we regret eating too much, and when we end the day by hugging goodbye to those won’t be seeing for a while, we should remember something about the giving thanks.  What we should remember is well expressed in Leonard Burks simple hymn:

Everyday is a day of thanksgiving.
God's been so good to me,
   everyday He's blessing me.
             Everyday is a day of thanksgiving;
               take the time to glorify the Lord today.