Our guide to the most famous, most uplifting Thanksgiving songs – perfect for celebrating the holiday with <\/p>

Some swear by cold showers. Others by fermented vegetables and ultramarathons. Still, anyone in need of a quick pick me up could do a lot worse than than to listen to one of the many thanksgiving songs given to us over the centuries by composers from all musical walks of life.<\/p>\n

Often brimming with vitality and optimism, they\u2019re one of the most simple, cost-effective ways of boosting our mood and restoring our sense of equilibrium. So, in honour of the Thanksgiving holiday, let\u2019s take a moment to give thanks for the most famous, most uplifting Thanksgiving songs.<\/p>\n

Best hymns for Thanksgiving<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
Best Thanksgiving songs<\/h2>\n
Lydia Maria Child \u2013 Over the River and Through the Wood<\/h3>\n
One of the most popular children\u2019s songs for the Thanksgiving holiday is \u2018Over the River and Through the Wood<\/a><\/strong>\u2018. Inspired by her childhood visits to her grandparents, this popular thanksgiving song was written by Lydia Maria Child and published in 1844. Lydia Maria Child was a famous abolitionist, human rights activist, novelist and journalist.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Maurice Greene \u2013 Thou Visitest the Earth<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">Though its composer Maurice Green (1696-1755) is hardly a household name, \u2018Thou Visitest the Earth\u2019 is one of the most famous anthems for Harvest Thanksgiving. It consists of just one line from Psalm 65: \u2018Thou visits the earth, and blesses it; and crowns the year with thy goodness\u2026\u2019 But what Greene makes of it is delightful: a work, that, in its simple repetitions, vibrant rhythms and light use of polyphony, encapsulates a sense of optimism.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/baroque-music-guide\/\">A Guide to Baroque music<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"Thou Visitest The Earth - Maurice Green, performed by the choir of New College Oxford\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EY3BzD12g8Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>John Rutter \u2013 For the Beauty of the Earth<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">If there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s true about <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/john-rutter-composer\/\">John Rutter<\/a><\/strong>, the guy knows how to write an infectious tune, and this sacred choral composition, setting a hymn of the same name by Folliott S.Pierpoint, is one of his most popular works. He composed it in 1978, changing the refrain to address \u2018God of all\u2019 , rather than \u2018Christ, our God\u2019, in order to give the hymn a more universal purpose of thanksgiving. What emerged was a cornucopia of Rutterisms: catchy phrases in sequences, jazzy syncopation, harmonies so sweet you could spin candy floss out of them. Initially used as a communion hymn, it soon established itself as a favourite for the Thanksgiving season, and continues to get regular outings on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-hymns-of-all-time\/\">Best hymns of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"For the beauty of the earth - John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers, City of London Sinfonia\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1bDoMflYErE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>Leonard Bernstein \u2013 America<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">In this song from <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/leonard-bernstein-composer\/\">Bernstein<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/west-side-story-our-guide-to-bernsteins-original-1957-musical\/\"><i>West Side Story<\/i><\/a><\/strong>, Puerto Rican immigrants sing the praises of the USA, albeit with lashings of irony (\u2018everything free in America \/ for a small fee in America\u2019). Bernstein\u2019s take on the Hispanic idiom is every bit as incisive as Sondheim\u2019s razor sharp lyrics, making for one of the most famous, if somewhat tongue-in-cheek, tributes to America.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-stage-musicals-of-all-time\/\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>15 of the best stage musicals of all time<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/10-of-the-best-songs-from-musicals\/\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>10 of the best songs from musicals<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"West Side Story \u2013 Cast 2021 - America (From "West Side Story")\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hoQEddtFN3Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>Charles Villiers Stanford \u2013<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Te Deum in B Flat<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">Traditionally attributed to the 4th century Saints Ambrose and Augustine, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/te-deum-lyrics\/\">Te Deum<\/a><\/strong> text has often been referred to as a Hymn of Thanksgiving, and has been set by many composers over the years. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford himself set seven versions of it, but this one, written in 1879 for the choir of Trinity College Cambridge, is the most uplifting, and the most widely sung.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/saddest-songs\/\">Sad songs: 10 of the saddest songs in history<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"Te Deum in B flat (Stanford): St Paul\u2019s Cathedral 1977 (Barry Rose)\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y6OjdGWKoM0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>George Frideric Handel \u2013 But Thanks Be to God (<em>Messiah<\/em>)<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">Taking place in Part 3 of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/george-frideric-handel\/\">Handel<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s mighty <i>Messiah, <\/i>which concentrates on St Paul\u2019s teaching of the resurrection of the dead and Christ\u2019s glorification in heaven, this magnificent chorus serves to dispel the darkness from the preceding number: \u2018O death where is thy sting?\u2019. Bursting with joy and vigour, it reminds listeners that followers of Christ will have the ultimate victory as the story of humankind\u2019s redemption approaches its conclusion.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-love-songs\/\">Best love songs: 10 of the best love songs of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"But Thanks Be to God, from Messiah | The Tabernacle Choir\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tPa1cIVIZJo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>Shaker dance song \u2013 Simple Gifts<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">For the Shakers, a Christian sect that emerged as an offshoot of the Quakers, dance and movement were intertwined with religious worship. So it\u2019s not surprising that this song, written in 1848 by the Maine-based Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett, is so full of life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Catchy though it was, it remained largely unknown outside Shaker communities until it caught the attention of 20th century <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/best-american-composers-ever\/\">American composer<\/a><\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/aaron-copland\/\">Aaron Copland<\/a><\/strong>, who incorporated its melody into the score of his 1944 ballet <i><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/a-guide-to-coplands-appalachian-spring-and-its-best-recordings\/\">Appalachian Spring<\/a><\/strong>. <\/i>It is now a thanksgiving classic, though its <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-melody\/\">melody<\/a><\/strong> is most familiar to many Brits from \u2018Lord of the Dance\u2019 \u2013 my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-school-hymns\/\"><strong>favourite<\/strong> <strong>hymn at primary school<\/strong><\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Aaron Copland - Simple Gifts\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FMtCh0VuoKg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>Felix Mendelssohn \u2013 Thanks be to God (<em>Elijah)<\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">The <i>Messiah <\/i>of its era, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/elijah-mendelssohn\/\"><i>Elijah<\/i> <\/a><\/strong>confirmed <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/felix-mendelssohn\/\">Mendelssohn<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s reputation as an outstanding composer of sacred music when it was premiered in 1846, and \u2018Thanks to be God\u2019 is one of its most rousing offerings. A blaze of brass, scurrying strings and full chorus, it fully embodies the awe-inspiring vision of God conjured up by its text: \u2018The stormy billows are high; their fury is mighty. But the Lord is above them, and Almighty!\u2019<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><b\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/does-listening-sad-music-actually-make-you-happier\/\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Does listening to sad music actually make you happier?<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"Thanks Be to God | The Tabernacle Choir\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dcoZI0GZpm4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>Vernon Duke\u2019s Autumn in New York<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">Although this song was written in 1934, its backstory began in 1921 when Vladimir Dukelsky, a young Belarusian immigrant musician, arrived in New York, where he met and befriended Jacob Gershwine, the son of Russian immigrants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Gershwine by then had already established his reputation as a composer, under his new name: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/george-gershwin\/\">George Gershwin<\/a><\/strong>. At his suggestion, Dukelsky changed his pen name to Vernon Duke, and started writing popular songs. Thirteen years later, while staying in Westport, Connecticut, he wrote this one: a beautifully melancholy expression of homesickness for New York, and the beauty of the city in autumn.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Though Duke later said that it contained no shred of popular appeal in his publisher\u2019s opinion, it nevertheless became embedded as a jazz standard, performed by everyone from opera singer Dawn Upshaw to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/greatest-jazz-saxophonists-ever\/\">jazz saxophonist<\/a><\/strong> Charlie Parker.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In addition to his popular works, Dukelsky continued to write classical music and Russian poetry under his birth name until 1955.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><b\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-jazz-songs\/\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Best jazz songs: 9 classics you will listen to again and again<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"Autumn In New York\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WyfFxkyLsQQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>Bing Crosby\u2019s I\u2019ve got plenty to be thankful for<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">One of the twelve original songs that Irving Berlin wrote for the 1942 film <i>Holiday Inn<\/i>,<i> <\/i>which also included \u2018White Christmas\u2019 (one of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/christmas-songs\/\">best Christmas songs ever<\/a><\/strong>), \u2018I\u2019ve got plenty to be thankful for\u2019 is, on the surface, a chirpily simple song about gratitude.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The lyrics round up life\u2019s simple blessings: \u2018I\u2019ve got eyes to see with\/Ears to hear with\/Arms to hug with\/Lips to kiss with\/Someone to adore\/How could anybody ask for more?\u2019 Seen in the context of the film, however, where Crosby counters each of the song\u2019s positive declarations with a negative one, the song\u2019s significance is a little more complicated: an acknowledgement that gratitude and melancholy are not mutually exclusive.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"1942 Bing Crosby - I\u2019ve Got Plenty To Be Thankful For\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dr4I6mIAkSw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3>Johann Sebastian Bach \u2013 Cantata BWV 29\u2018Wir danken dir, Gott\u2019<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">The opening chorus of Bach\u2019s 1731 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-is-a-cantata\/\">cantata<\/a><\/strong>, \u2018Wir danken dir, Gott\u2019 (\u2018We thank you, God, we thank you\u2019) says it all, climbing continuously upward as though on a mission to ascend into heaven. As the chorus unfolds, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/johann-sebastian-bach\/\">Bach<\/a><\/strong> creates a gradual <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-is-a-crescendo\/\">crescendo<\/a><\/strong>, culminating in a climax where seven distinct voices combine with three <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/trumpet-guide\/\">trumpets<\/a><\/strong> and timpani. As a celebration of God\u2019s might and beneficence, it is an awe-inspiring one.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Bach - Cantata Wir danken dir... BWV 29 - Van Veldhoven | Netherlands Bach Society\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ih51HIyTW0Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Our guide to the most famous, most uplifting Thanksgiving songs – perfect for celebrating the holiday with <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":32915,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/best-thanksgiving-songs-11-of-the-most-famous-songs-for-thanksgiving.jpg",640,471,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/best-thanksgiving-songs-11-of-the-most-famous-songs-for-thanksgiving-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/best-thanksgiving-songs-11-of-the-most-famous-songs-for-thanksgiving-300x221.jpg",300,221,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/best-thanksgiving-songs-11-of-the-most-famous-songs-for-thanksgiving.jpg",640,471,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/best-thanksgiving-songs-11-of-the-most-famous-songs-for-thanksgiving.jpg",640,471,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/best-thanksgiving-songs-11-of-the-most-famous-songs-for-thanksgiving.jpg",640,471,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/best-thanksgiving-songs-11-of-the-most-famous-songs-for-thanksgiving.jpg",640,471,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Our guide to the most famous, most uplifting Thanksgiving songs - perfect for celebrating the holiday with","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/32914"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Best Thanksgiving songs<\/h2>\n