"The Thanksgiving Song" (also known as "Happy Thanksgiving") is a song performed by Adam Sandler discussing

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

. The song was written by Sandler,

Ian Maxtone-Graham Ian Howes Maxtone-Graham is an American television writer and producer. He has formerly written for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1992–1995) and ''The Simpsons'' (1995–2012), as well as serving as a co-executive producer and consulting producer ...

and

Robert Smigel Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and puppeteer, known for his ''Saturday Night Live'' " TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic D ...

History

It was first performed during the

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...

segment of the season 18 episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' on November 21, 1992, as a duet between Sandler and Weekend Update anchor

Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1995, acted in several of the Happy Madison films, played Doug Wilson on the Showtime series '' Weeds'', and p ...

; it was originally intended to be a recurring Thanksgiving tradition with other cast members debuting their own original songs, but the next year, it was again Sandler, doing another version of the same song in the style of Bruce Springsteen. A live performance of the original song was recorded at ''The Strand'' in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

on July 25, 1993. It was also featured on MTV's '' Beavis and Butt-Head Do Thanksgiving'' in 1997 The version at ''The Strand'' was included on Sandler's debut album '' They're All Gonna Laugh at You!'' and was released as a single.

Song details

The song, which Sandler sings in a childlike, semi- falsetto voice, primarily revolves around the repetition of the word "

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

" in various two-line rhymes, many of which are non sequiturs; for instance, "Turkey with gravy and cranberries/Can't believe

the Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

traded Darryl Strawberry!" Celebrity and pop culture references include: *

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

*'' 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong'' * Turkey-related drowsiness *

Jimmie Walker James Carter Walker Jr. (born June 25, 1947) is an American actor and comedian. Walker portrayed James Evans Jr. ("J.J."), the older son of Florida and James Evans Sr., on the CBS television series '' Good Times'', which ran from 1974 to 1979 ...

's portrayal of J. J. Evans and his catch phrase "Dyn-o-mite!" * Darryl Strawberry's departure from the New York Mets (Sandler erroneously refers to Strawberry being traded; in fact, Strawberry left as a free agent and signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

). * Mike Tyson raping Desiree Washington *

Lake Winnipesaukee Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...

(''SNL'' version only) *

Cheryl Tiegs Cheryl Rae Tiegs (born September 25, 1947) is an American model and fashion designer. Frequently described as the first American supermodel, Tiegs is best known for her multiple appearances on the covers of the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit ...

posters (1993 recordings onward; a reference to Sandler's Canteen Boy character, who had a crush on Tiegs) * Sammy Davis, Jr. having only one eye * Corduroy pants *

Moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typ ...

Legacy

The song is a predecessor to Sandler's more popular holiday song, "

The Chanukah Song "The Chanukah Song" is a novelty song written by comedian Adam Sandler with ''Saturday Night Live'' writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on ''Saturday Night Live''s Weekend Update on December 3, 1994. San ...

" (also co-written by Maxtone-Graham and Sandler). When "The Chanukah Song" became a hit on the rock charts (and a minor hit on the Hot 100) in 1996, "The Thanksgiving Song" was released as a follow-up the next year; it too became a hit, charting at #40 on the

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

chart and #29 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1997. The song continues to receive extensive radio airplay around Thanksgiving, on various formats, both with other holiday-themed songs and without. Various radio cuts remove or edit one verse which states "my brother likes to

masturbate Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combination ...

with baby oil" but it is otherwise identical to the live performance at ''The Strand''. The edits also leave in a portion of the performance where Sandler has to stop in the middle of a song due to becoming distracted with the audience's rhythmic clapping.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thanksgiving Song, The 1993 songs Adam Sandler songs Thanksgiving songs Songs written by Adam Sandler Novelty songs Saturday Night Live in the 1990s