For all the great country songs out there about Christmas, Thanksgiving kind of gets a bum rap.
There’s comparatively few songs written about the November holiday, and that’s a shame. While it might get lost in Christmas’ shadow a bit, Thanksgiving is one of the greatest days of the year, and it deserves its due.
The food alone — pumpkin pie! Mashed potatoes! Turkey! — is worth a playlist, and that’s just the start of what makes this holiday so special.
Of course, the most important part of any Thanksgiving table is the people around it, and how the holiday reminds us all to be grateful for all the gifts in our lives.
Read More: The 10 Best ‘Thank You’ Songs
It’s easy enough to find country songs about gratitude, but for this list, we’re taking it a step further. We wanted to find the best country songs that truly put the Thanksgiving holiday in the limelight.
That’s why Taste of Country has compiled a list of songs that were either written explicitly about Thanksgiving, or focus on a food item that’s a staple at the Thanksgiving table.
Sweet potato pie and “Good Brown Gravy” are two items that show up in songs that, while they’re not explicitly about Thanksgiving, deserve a mouth-watering place on your holiday playlist.
Keep scrolling and you’ll find classics like “Over the River and Through the Woods,” plus contemporary Thanksgiving homages like Carrie Underwood‘s “Stretchy Pants.”
Read More: 50 Merry Country Christmas Songs
You’ll also find songs that focus on the gratitude of the holiday, and songs that paint a realistic picture of the tension families can feel when everyone’s under the same roof.
There’s one exception to this list’s rule that every song has to be explicitly linked to Thanksgiving in some way. We chose to include one country song that’s not about Thanksgiving or food, but it is one of country music’s greatest songs about reconciling family differences with love, respect and tradition.
Keep scrolling to find out what it is, and to stock up on all the Thanksgiving spirit you’ll need this season.
13 Perfectly Nostalgic Songs About Thanksgiving
For all the great Christmas songs out there, there really aren’t all that many about Thanksgiving.
That’s just plain not fair. Turkey Day might get lost in Christmas’ shadow a bit, but it’s still one of the best days of the year: From the food to the family, it’s a holiday that deserves its moment in the spotlight.
That’s why Taste of Country is compiling this list of perfectly nostalgic songs for your Thanksgiving playlist. It’s easy enough to find country music with a theme of gratitude, but we took it a step further.
Each and every song on this list is either about Thanksgiving itself or a food closely associated with the holiday, with one exception. One submission on this list is about family dynamics — something that admittedly isn’t explicitly about the November holiday, but does come up at quite a few Thanksgiving tables each year.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak