"Thank God for Kids" is a song written by

Eddy Raven Edward Garvin Futch (born August 19, 1944), known professionally as Eddy Raven, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since 1962, Raven has recorded for several record labels, including ABC, Dimension, Elektra, RCA, Univers ...

. It was released as the

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to his 1976 single "The Curse of a Woman". It was later included on the 1984 MCA Records album of the same name. It was later recorded by American country music band

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

, whose version was the only single from their 1982 ''

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

'' album. The song spent sixteen weeks on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts and peaked at number three. In 2004,

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...

covered the song for his Christmas album ''

All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan ''All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan'' is the seventh studio album by American country music singer Kenny Chesney, released on October 7, 2003. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sale ...

''. His version spent one week at number 60 on the country singles charts in January 2004.Whitburn, p. 92 In 2011,

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...

covered the song for his

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, '' For the Kids''.

Content

The song is about the relationship between a father and a child. According to Eddy Raven, he wrote it in 1973 after his son said that he wanted to help his father write a song about

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the long-running children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skat ...

; both characters are referenced in the song ("We'd all live in a quiet house/Without Big Bird or Mickey Mouse...").

Chart performance

The Oak Ridge Boys

Kenny Chesney

References

{{Eddy Raven Eddy Raven songs The Oak Ridge Boys songs Kenny Chesney songs 1982 singles 2004 singles American Christmas songs Songs about parenthood Songs written by Eddy Raven Song recordings produced by Ron Chancey MCA Records singles 1972 songs Songs about children