{"id":973696,"date":"2019-11-23T11:18:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-23T18:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/uncategorized\/uncategorized-news\/why-adam-sandlers-thanksgiving-song-is-a-holiday-classic-193600\/"},"modified":"2019-11-23T11:18:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-23T18:18:00","slug":"why-adam-sandlers-thanksgiving-song-is-a-holiday-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/music-news\/why-adam-sandlers-thanksgiving-song-is-a-holiday-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Adam Sandler\u2019s \u2018Thanksgiving Song\u2019 Is a Holiday Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s so much to love about Thanksgiving<\/a>: the piles of food, the expressions of gratitude, that uncle that still tries to get you to pull his finger, the four-day weekend, etc. And yet, this late November feast of gluttony is easily the most underserved among the major U.S. holidays when it comes to one important factor: its songs.<\/p>\n

Christmas, of course, has more carols and novelty numbers than you can shake a giant candy cane at. Easter comes complete with \u201cHere Comes Peter Cottontail\u201d and a basket-load of hymns. Valentine\u2019s Day has its love ballads, the Fourth of July has everything from George M. Cohan marches to \u201cAmerica (Fuck Yeah)\u201d from Team America: World Police,<\/em> and Halloween has the entire Danzig catalog. But a mix of Thanksgiving-specific songs wouldn\u2019t last long enough to get you and your family through the first Obama-related argument of the afternoon, much less the entire dinner.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it: There\u2019s only one Thanksgiving song deep enough to rep the multilayered joys of Turkey Day, and that\u2019s Adam Sandler<\/a>\u2019s \u201cThe Thanksgiving Song,\u201d a.k.a. \u201cHappy Thanksgiving.\u201d Sure, the comedian\u2019s \u201cChanukah Song\u201d gets all the love, but his T-Day tune \u2014 which debuted on the November 21, 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live<\/a><\/em>\u2018s \u201cWeekend Update,\u201d then appeared on his 1993 album, They\u2019re All Gonna Laugh At You!<\/em> \u2014 may be even better. In a weird way, his ditty actually replicates the occasionally dissociative experience of sitting through a family-filled Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish. So to truly appreciate the song\u2019s inherent brilliance, we must examine Sandler\u2019s free-associative lyrics one rhyme at a time\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Love to eat turkey<\/em>
\u2018Cause it\u2019s good<\/em>
Love to eat turkey<\/em>
Like a good boy should<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Popular on Rollingstone <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the most important rules of songwriting is to open with a line that your listeners can immediately relate to. And who doesn\u2019t love to eat turkey? Unless, of course, you\u2019re vegetarian or vegan \u2014 in which case, you can easily substitute \u201cTofurkey\u201d without messing up the rhyme scheme. Genius.<\/p>\n

Turkey for me<\/em>
Turkey for you<\/em>
Let\u2019s eat the turkey<\/em>
In my big brown shoe<\/em><\/p>\n

After finding common ground with his listeners in the first verse, Sandler throws a curve with a non sequitur clearly influenced by the Surrealism movement of the Twenties and Thirties. Andre Br\u00e9ton would surely be proud.<\/p>\n

Love to eat the turkey<\/em>
At the table<\/em>
I once saw a movie<\/em>
With Betty Grable<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One of the most popular actresses and pinups of the 1940s, Betty Grable famously had a million-dollar insurance policy taken out on her legs by 20th Century Fox. Sandler may here be subtly comparing the flavor of a roast turkey leg to the deliciousness of Grable\u2019s gams. Or he may just watch a lot of TCM, another popular Thanksgiving tradition in many households. Regardless, it\u2019s safe to assume that he once saw a movie starring Betty Grable, and did not actually accompany the star of Four Jills and a Jeep<\/em> to a moving picture show, despite persistent rumors that Sandler possesses a time machine. (It should also be noted that he could have gone with \u201cClark Gable\u201d and chose not to. When it comes to referencing old-timey movie stars, the guy who played the lead role in Little Nicky<\/em> rolls deep.)<\/p>\n

Eat that turkey<\/em>
All night long<\/em>
Fifty million Elvis fans<\/em>
Can\u2019t be wrong<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no coincidence that Sandler salutes perhaps the greatest of The King\u2019s \u201cgreatest hits\u201d compilations, 1959\u2019s 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can\u2019t Be Wrong: Elvis\u2019 Gold Records \u2014 Volume 2.<\/em> Thanksgiving was a big holiday for Elvis; not only could the man put away some serious grub, but six of his films (1956\u2019s Love Me Tender,<\/em> 1960\u2019s G.I. Blues,<\/em> 1961\u2019s Blue Hawaii,<\/em> 1962\u2019s Girls! Girls! Girls!,<\/em> 1963\u2019s Fun in Acapulco<\/em> and 1965\u2019s Harum Scarum<\/em>) were initially released on Thanksgiving Day in order to cash in on the long weekend. Well-played, sir.<\/p>\n

Turkey lurkey doo and<\/em>
Turkey lurkey dap<\/em>
I eat that turkey<\/em>
Then I take a nap<\/em><\/p>\n

Again finding common ground with his listeners, Sandler invokes the time-honored Thanksgiving tradition of sacking out after dinner in a tryptophan-and-carbohydrate haze. This now-scientifically-debunked myth about tryptophan in turkey being the reason that folks tend to nod off post-feast can be traced back to 1978<\/a>, when the Better Sleep Council (it\u2019s a real thing, people) was attempting to rebrand everyone\u2019s favorite white meat as a cure for insomnia by riding the holiday\u2019s coattails. Still, we find that the amino acid\u2019s reputation comes in handy this time of year. You are getting sleepy, Uncle Rich\u2026we won\u2019t pull your finger\u2026you are getting sleepy\u2026.<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving is a special night<\/em>
Jimmy Walker used to say Dy-no-mite<\/em><\/p>\n

Sandler humbly acknowledges the fleeting nature of fame with this touching shout-out to Jimmy \u201cJ.J.\u201d Walker, a popular actor and comedian of the 1970s, whose star had faded considerably by the 1990s. We\u2019re still waiting for the Good Times<\/em>\u2018 actor\u2019s career resurgence, which should be happening any minute now.<\/p>\n

Turkey with gravy and cranberry<\/em>
Can\u2019t believe the Mets traded Darryl Strawberry<\/em><\/p>\n

The New York Mets never actually traded their All-Star slugger; Strawberry left the team as a free agent following the 1990 season. Therefore, this couplet may be meant as a \u201cfly on the wall\u201d snippet of a conversation involving a father or uncle whose opinions on sports are rarely grounded in reality. Lord knows we\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n

Turkey for you and Turkey for me<\/em>
Can\u2019t believe Tyson gave that girl V.D.<\/em><\/p>\n

Another \u201cfly on the wall\u201d conversational snippet, referring to beauty queen Desiree Washington\u2019s charge that she had contracted a venereal disease from Mike Tyson when she was raped by the former heavyweight champ. As Tyson\u2019s rape trial was all over the headlines in November 1992, Sandler was surely aware that it would be a hot topic at dinner tables across the country that Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

White meat, dark meat<\/em>
You just can\u2019t lose<\/em>
I fell off my moped<\/em>
And I got a bruise<\/em><\/p>\n

An important public safety message from Sandler, who knows first-hand the dangers of operating a vehicle \u2014 or other heavy machinery \u2014 immediately after ingesting \u201cthirds\u201d at the dinner table. (See that nap verse above.)<\/p>\n

Turkey in the oven<\/em>
And the buns in the toaster<\/em>
I\u2019ll never take down<\/em>
My Cheryl Tiegs poster<\/em><\/p>\n

The Kate Upton of the Seventies, Cheryl Tiegs was the first model to appear multiple times on the cover of Sports Illustrated<\/em>\u2018s swimsuit issue, and her posters adorned the walls of many an adolescent boy back in the day. The reference to Thanksgiving \u201cbuns\u201d is more than likely what triggered Sandler\u2019s nostalgic Tiegs reverie.<\/p>\n

Wrap the turkey up<\/em>
In aluminum foil<\/em>
My brother likes to masturbate<\/em>
With baby oil<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, someone has the guts to come out and admit to the world that yes, this popular item used to soften the skin of infants has more than one usage. (No word on what Sandler\u2019s brother thinks about this bit, or whether it\u2019s won him an endorsement deal with or lifetime\u2019s supply of Johnson & Johnson.) It\u2019s a judgment-free \u201cacknowledgment of the more sexually adventurous members of Sandler\u2019s audience. Or, as the pioneering African-American comedian Mantan Moreland once famously proclaimed (in a line later sampled for the Beastie Boys\u2019 \u201cB-Boys makin\u2019 with the Freak-Freak\u201d), \u201cShit, if it\u2019s gonna be that kind of party, I\u2019m gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes!\u201d<\/p>\n

Turkey and sweet potato pie<\/em>
Sammy Davis Jr.<\/em>
Only had one eye<\/em><\/p>\n

The legendary entertainer and Rat Pack member Sammy Davis, Jr. was actually born with two<\/em> eyes, though he lost one in a horrific 1954 car crash that nearly claimed his life. Despite his injuries, the man behind \u201cThe Candyman\u201d made an impressive comeback \u2014 which Sandler clearly believes should serve as an inspiring lesson for us all.<\/p>\n

Turkey for the girls and<\/em>
Turkey for the boys<\/em>
My favorite kind of pants<\/em>
Are corduroys<\/em><\/p>\n

An interesting and perhaps even daring admission of fashion preference from Sandler, given that cords were very much out of favor among American men in the early\/mid-Nineties. When folks say that the Billy Madison<\/em> star is not a retro-couture maverick, we kindly sing them this line in our best manchild voice.<\/p>\n

Gobble gobble goo and<\/em>
Gobble gobble gickel<\/em>
I wish turkey<\/em>
Only cost a nickel<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Adam<\/p>\n

Of course, a turkey dinner costs much more than a nickel these days, and there are many people living below the poverty line who cannot afford to put a Thanksgiving meal on their table. With this concluding couplet, Sandler asks us to remember the less fortunate during this and every holiday season, and reminds us to be thankful for the many blessings that we have received over the course of the year.<\/p>\n

Okay, so maybe we\u2019re guilty of reading between the lines a tad too much, or perhaps we\u2019re just a little pumpkin pie-drunk. But it\u2019s still high time that Sandler\u2019s song is crowned with a wreath of candied yams and made the official anthem of Thanksgiving. After all, a holiday whose actual origins are as hazy as a freshman dorm room and which comes with more than its share of intrinsic silliness (we stuff our faces, fight with our families, then doze off watching football) deserves an official carol with an equal level of good cheer and abject ridiculousness. Never mind the fact that, hey, when it comes right down to it, what else does this annual day of gratitude have, music-wise; it\u2019s a gleeful, silly, all-inclusive ode that, minus the masturbation verse, remains a sing-along favorite \u2014 one of the few things our family can agree on come Turkey Day. For that alone, we\u2019re most thankful, Mr. Sandler.<\/p>\n

via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s so much to love about Thanksgiving: the piles of food, the expressions of gratitude, that uncle that still tries to get you to pull his finger, the four-day weekend, etc. And yet, this late November feast of gluttony is easily the most underserved among the major U.S. holidays when it comes to one important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-973696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-13 23:55:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KFMU Solar Powered Radio","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=973696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=973696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=973696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kfmu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=973696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}