Thanksgiving has fewer songs of its own than the other holidays, so the playlist leans on what the day is really about: coming home, gathering at one table and giving thanks. A couple of these are old hymns, and one is a very long, very funny tradition.
Updated 2026
Alice's Restaurant Massacree by Arlo Guthrie 1967
The eighteen-minute story that plays on the radio every Thanksgiving.
We Gather Together by Traditional 1597
The hymn sung around tables for centuries.
Over the River and Through the Wood by Traditional 1844
The sleigh ride to grandmother's house everybody learns young.
Thanksgiving Theme by Vince Guaraldi Trio 1973
Cozy jazz piano straight from the Charlie Brown special.
Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 2009
A foot-stomping ode to wherever your people are.
Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel 1966
The pull back toward home when you have been gone too long.
Family Affair by Sly and the Family Stone 1971
The tangled, loving reality of a full house.
Harvest by Neil Young 1972
A late-autumn meditation that fits the season perfectly.
The Thanksgiving Song by Mary Chapin Carpenter 2008
A tender, grown-up take on counting what you have.
Thanksgiving by George Winston 1982
Solo piano as warm and quiet as the afternoon light.
The Thanksgiving Song by Adam Sandler 1993
The goofy Saturday Night Live bit that became a tradition.
Come Ye Thankful People, Come by Traditional 1844
A harvest hymn of gratitude for the gathered crop.