Don't Forget To Be Thankful

by Teresa Jennings, Paul Jennings, John Riggio, Mike Wilson, Tom Crowell, and Lynn Crowell

Songs Of Gratitude And Thanksgiving For Young Voices

Don't Forget To Be Thankful is a wonderful collection of eight amazing and diverse songs. Celebrate the season or holidays, or just impart an attitude of gratitude with these great tunes. No matter what age group or level of ability, there are many ways you can use these songs in your classroom or performances. It includes:

It's Not Just For Turkey - When all is said and done, Thanksgiving is for gratitude. This is a message that bears repeating lest we all forget. Hopefully, this jaunty 2-part song will help us remember. There are two styles in this one song: The bubbly part is meant to be sung with bounce and energy and the smooth part is the gentle reminder that is sung with more reverence and seriousness.
Gratitude - Despite everything life throws at us, this song reminds us that it's good to be thankful. Gratitude changes us for the better, and when we're changed, the world changes. The verses are straightforward to sing, but the challenges are with the syncopated rhythm and moving between pitches in the chorus. This song is a natural for Thanksgiving programming, but the message is relevant all year round.
Turkey At The Disco - Turkeys are not the most graceful birds, but they are magnificent. Could you imagine what it would look like if they suddenly started disco dancing? Bell-bottom pants and platform shoes on a turkey? Naturally, we wrote a song about it. We think your kids will have a blast with this. Your biggest conundrum may be whether to use costumes of turkeys or disco dancers or both!
Room At My Table - At the time of year when we are thinking more readily of generosity, gratitude, and love, it seems appropriate to remember that a burden shared is a burden lightened. "Room At My Table" is a song about opening our hearts and helping with one another's afflictions and sorrows. Acoustic guitar is the feature instrument on the accompaniment recording with support by piano, a fretless bass, and strings. An optional second part is included.
Don't Forget To Be Thankful - The title of this lively Latin tune says it all: "Don't Forget To Be Thankful." It's short and catchy, and easy enough for most of your students to learn readily. Spice up a performance by adding a little percussion, like cowbells, tambourines, shakers, etc. You certainly may want to use this song around Thanksgiving, but gratitude doesn't have a season. It's always important, so use it anytime as a reminder to us all.
Ode To Thanksgiving - In this silly nod to the delicious excesses of the Thanksgiving feast, singers are given the opportunity to name all of their favorite foods to the melody of Beethoven's "Ode To Joy." Sorry, Ludwig! The recording is energizing in a bluegrassy sort of way. We wouldn't blame you if you wanted to add a bit of stompin' and clappin'.
Demos Gracias - In this gratitude song are four Spanish phrases, followed up by their respective translations. In the song, we give thanks for our blessings, our families, and our friends. Traditional folk Spanish instrumentation is used for this Spanish waltz, including nylon string guitars, guitarón (Spanish bass guitar), Spanish percussion, harp, and trumpets. The kit includes a Spanish pronunciation guide.

The Day After Thanksgiving - Your students will have fun hamming it up with this one! It's a humorous partner song about Black Friday, with part 1 and part 2 representing two types of shoppers: Those who enjoy going out on Black Friday and those who don't. This song takes a lighthearted look at these opposing views. Part 1 sings the first and third time, and part 2 sings the second and third time.