The Thanksgiving Song

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"The Thanksgiving Song" (also known as "Happy Thanksgiving"[1]) is a song performed by Adam Sandler discussing Thanksgiving.[2] The song was written by Sandler, Ian Maxtone-Graham and Robert Smigel.[3] It was first performed during the Weekend Update segment of the season 18 episode of Saturday Night Live on November 21, 1992. A live performance was recorded at The Strand in Redondo Beach, California on July 25, 1993.[3] The version at The Strand was featured on Sandler's debut album They're All Gonna Laugh at You!, and is the commonly heard version, particularly on radio.

Song details[edit]

The song, which Sandler sings in a childlike, semi-falsetto voice, primarily revolves around the repetition of the word "turkey" in various two-line rhymes, many of which are non sequiturs; for instance, "Turkey with gravy and cranberries/Can't believe the Mets traded Darryl Strawberry!"

Celebrity and pop culture references include:

Legacy[edit]

The song is a predecessor to Sandler's more popular holiday song, "The Chanukah Song" (also co-written by Maxtone-Graham and Sandler), and has a similar degree of popularity in radio airplay around Thanksgiving.[4] Various radio cuts remove or edit one verse which states "my brother likes to masturbate 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[edit]