10 Thanksgiving Songs To Put On Your Spotify Playlist That Fit The Holiday

Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and you’re trying to find the perfect way to celebrate it. You have your Thanksgiving dinner already planned out, as well as the festive decorations which you’re going to put all over the house. The only thing you still need to do is to pick out some great Thanksgiving songs to play in the background. Sometimes, people are so caught up in the other parts of the holiday that they forget to choose appropriate music. The main purpose of playing some quiet music over Thanksgiving is that it will, along with the decor, get you in the mood for the season!

‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ by George Winston

No list of Thanksgiving songs is complete without this one. The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving TV special is a tradition with many families and, because of this, the song which plays during the show has become iconic. For anyone that has seen the special, this song is played at the end of the movie when Snoopy and Woodstock and eating their Thanksgiving dinner. If you decided to play this song at your own holiday meal with your family, it will bring to mind a feeling of contentment and happiness. For those not familiar with the show, the quiet piano music will put them at ease.

‘Thanksgiving Song’ by Mary Chapin Carpenter

This Thanksgiving song is not as well known as the previous, but that doesn’t mean that you should exclude it from your Spotify playlist. Mary Carpenter has managed to create a peaceful song all about coming from long distances and gathering around the Thanksgiving table to spend the holiday with your family. Perhaps someone from your family has come back home for the holiday from far away and, when you hear this song, you’ll be reminded of the feeling you experienced when you saw them again. The soft and slow piano music played during the song serve to enhance these feelings.

‘Turkey Chase’ by Bob Dylan

Some Thanksgiving songs, like this one, bring to mind the atmosphere found in the countryside by using the fiddle and other iconic instruments most associated with it. A fast paced song, ‘Turkey Chase’ evokes feelings of fun and liveliness in those who hear it. However, since you probably don’t want your guests to stop eating and start dancing, you should keep the volume low. Everyone will still be able to hear and appreciate the song, but it won’t put the brakes on the peaceful atmosphere that goes with the Thanksgiving meal.

‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’ by John Denver

While this is not necessarily one of the many Thanksgiving songs, it still has enough in common with the traditional holiday ideals that you can play it without anyone complaining. These ideals that those who celebrate Thanksgiving try to achieve are things like simple living and being thankful for everything in your life. Since it is sometimes easier to live by these ideals out in the countryside, this song is a welcome addition to any holiday playlist. With these faster songs, you can also play them during before and after the meal so that your guests can really get in the mood before calming down and eating the food you’ve prepared.

‘I’ve got Plenty to be Thankful For’ by Bing Crosby

This will probably be one of the oldest Thanksgiving songs on your Spotify playlist! Bing Crosby, known for his starring roles in movies like White Christmas and Going my Way, is also an accomplished singer, so you can be assured that this song will be great! As you would expect from older songs, it has that old-timey feel to it, due in large part to the swing style music that accompanies Crosby’s melodious voice. As the title states, this songs is all about things that you can be thankful for, which obviously fits into the spirit of the holiday.

‘Coat of Many Colors’ by Dolly Parton

It’s no surprise that many of the most popular Thanksgiving songs are sung by country singers. Dolly Parton, a country singer who is widely popular, has made her own contribution to the holiday. The song tells the story of how a mother took the time to sew her daughter a beautiful handmade coat. Selfless giving and charitable deeds are a big part of Thanksgiving, so the story that is told within this song fits really well with the holiday. Also, while the song doesn’t specifically state what colors make up the coat, it can still be compared to the many different Fall colors (reds, yellows, oranges, even some leftover green) that can be seen everywhere you look.

‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong

This is another one of the Thanksgiving songs on this list that wasn’t made specifically for the holiday, but can be included on your playlist anyway due to it’s theme: the love of life. Thanksgiving, among other things, is about valuing the life you have and appreciating the world around you. When this song starts to play on your phone, odds are that quite a few members of your family will have heard it before, since it is so well known. There really is no other singer that sounds like Louis Armstrong does, so there’s no mistaking this song when it begins to play!

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‘Harvest Time’ by Luke Bryan

Another famous country singer, Luke Bryan’s ‘Harvest Time’ should be included in any collection of Thanksgiving songs. This song accurately portrays what goes on in the country during the Fall. Bryan paints a picture in the minds of his listeners with the opening lines of the song: small bits and pieces of the harvested crops and floating in the air and the tractors, dirty from tending the fields, are ready to start loading the gathered food. It’s not all about working hard outside, though. Scenes from the dinner table during this time show that delicious, home cooked meals are very much a staple of the season, as well!

‘Tennessee’ by Johnny Cash

Many people desire a simple life, free from the stresses of the modern world. Many Thanksgiving songs, with their focus on living in the country with only the bare necessities, appeal to this wish. In fact, traditional Thanksgiving values are, if you think about it, built around country living as opposed to life in the city. This song by Johnny Cash tells the story of a man who marries, and then retreats to a log cabin in the wilderness. While there, life is not exactly easy, but simple. There is no rush, everything is done slowly but done well. It’s easy to see why many people desire a life like that.

‘Autumn Leaves’ by Eva Cassidy

A sad guitar solo begins one of the most melancholic Thanksgiving songs you’ll hear. Summer has been left behind, and the world grows steadily colder. One by one, the autumn leaves which give the song its name start to fall. The music shifts to a focus on piano, with the guitar fading into the background. This is probably not the best song to play during a big holiday event but, nevertheless, this is an accurate depiction of the autumn season. You start off by missing summer then, as the season fades to winter, you begin to miss autumn too.