I usually take a few moments each month to talk about some of the music that lives and breathes all around us, but this month is going to be different. I’m here to talk about the music that doesn’t exist. Please, allow me to explain.
With the holiday season rapidly approaching, we’re sure to hear all of the seasonal songs being piped into every building. I just heard some Halloween classics like “Monster Mash” while shopping for costumes, and there’s never a shortage of Christmas music. But, being a big fan of Thanksgiving and the family togetherness aspect of the holiday, I started thinking. Has there ever been a piece of music dedicated to this wonderful, exclusively American holiday?
Almost every holiday you can think of has some kind of music tied to it. We might hear our favorite love songs for Valentine’s Day or some traditional Irish music for St. Patrick’s Day. We’ll even hear “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” around Easter.
Over the years, we have associated very specific sounds to each holiday we celebrate. Even holidays exclusive to the United States, such as Memorial Day and Independence Day, we hear patriotic songs like “America The Beautiful” or “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”
So what happened to Thanksgiving?
Perhaps much of the reason Thanksgiving is often overlooked for the more extravagant Christmas holiday is because we have no music to celebrate Thanksgiving.
C’mon all you great songwriters! I think it’s time one of you wrote an American classic that will give Thanksgiving its own musical identity!
