49 Best Thanksgiving Songs to Jam to While You Cook

Yes, you need a playlist of Thanksgiving songs! Halloween songs and Christmas songs get all the attention, and those holidays don't even involve hours spent in the kitchen cooking. You've gotta keep the energy up somehow. Why not make it on theme instead of turning on the usual top 40—you've already heard the best songs of 2022, anyway.

And regardless of what the holiday looks like for you, there are still ways to feel gratitude for all the blessings in your life over wine, cornbread, and pumpkin pie. Maybe you’re flying solo this year, planning a virtual dinner party over Zoom with friends, or hosting a gathering with all of your loved ones. However you’re celebrating, there’s no better way to get into the spirit than with a good soundtrack of Thanksgiving music. (Well, that and doing one of these Thanksgiving nails ideas.)

Curious just how many songs actually exist about turkey and mashed potatoes? Turns out not a whole lot. While songs about Thanksgiving are few and far between, there are plenty of tunes with lyrics about giving thanks and expressing gratitude for those who make the world, and our lives in it, a better place. And isn’t that what the holiday is all about?

So we rounded up 49 of the best Thanksgiving songs, below, to help you get into the mood. (And after the big meal, you can wind down with our picks of the best Thanksgiving movies.) From radio hits that’ll make you want to get up and dance to lesser-known tracks that might make you tear up, these songs will be the soundtrack to your Turkey Day celebrations for years to come.

1. “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge

If you can’t get enough of your sisters—they’re simply the best, right?—throw on this anthem by legendary disco group Sister Sledge. The upbeat tempo and empowering lyrics proudly proclaiming the unbreakable bond of sisterhood never fail to get us up and moving.