A little repost from last November on the tunes are our holiday table – Happy Thanksgiving!
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This year, we’ll be taking it easy the day of Thanksgiving (there are onesies to be washed!), but that’s not to say that we won’t be celebrating. On Friday, we’ll be having our Austrian friends over for a Thanksgiving dinner with all the usual “fixin’s”. Typically, it’s been my experience that even though American’s revere this holiday, non-Americans find it even more fascinating. In fact, friends of ours in London will tell you that a seat around their Thanksgiving table is one of the most coveted invites of the year.
Why is that? Well it has something to do with how we’ve managed to make pie out of pumpkin, the need to serve multiple starches in one sitting, and most importantly, having one national holiday that everyone can not only take part in, but can add their own cultural mark to in order to make it their own. Not so bad when you look at it from that perspective, and certainly no equivalent in Europe.
Here’s what will be on the ipod for cocktails and first part of the dinner. All the songs revolve around gratitude, traveling home and spirit of acknowledging your blessings. I’m sure my diplo-husband will make some non-diplo gripes about my selections, so I’ve thrown in a few pieces to placate him as an even exchange. The first being the Ballad of Edmund Fitzgerald – granted a song about a shipwreck is kind of a downer when you’re trying to be grateful, but he loves it and the mention of November gales. The other one is Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. It might not seem like an obvious choice either, but if you’ve ever been on a United flight trying to get home for the holidays, it’s your soundtrack as they announce one delay after another, and then land you safely home where you belong.
To get into the cornucopia spirit, I’ve included a few pics from the Retz pumpkin festival.
Thanksgiving 2010 Playlist
1. Come On-A-My House 1:56 Rosemary Clooney
2. Our House 3:03 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3. Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie 2:19 Jay & The Techniques
4. I Thank You (Single Version) 2:55 Sam & Dave
5. Take Me Home, Country Roads 3:21 Toots & The Maytals
6. Thank the Lord for the Night Time (Mono) 2:59 Neil Diamond
7. Someday We’ll Be Together 3:32 Diana Ross & The Supremes
8. Give Thanks and Praise 3:17 Bob Marley
9. Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) 2:52 Paul Revere & The Raiders
10. Kind and Generous 4:01 Natalie Merchant
11. Thank You 3:38 Dido
12. Harvest Moon 5:05 Neil Young
13. Autumn 2:50 Paolo Nutini
14. Long Way Home 3:21 Tom Waits
15. Shelter 4:37 Ray LaMontagne
16. Thank U 4:19 Alanis Morissette
17. You to Thank 3:34 Ben Folds
18. This Land Is Mine 3:47 Dido
19. This Land Is Your Land 2:27 Peter, Paul And Mary
20. Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (LP Version) 6:32 Gordon Lightfoot
21. Homeward Bound 2:42 Simon & Garfunkel
22. Simple Gifts 2:46 Jewel
23. Count Your Blessings 1:51 Bing Crosby
24. The Thanksgiving Song 3:48 Adam Sandler
25. Thanksgiving Theme 2:00 Vince Guaraldi Trio Charlie Brown
26. Rhapsody In Blue 17:11 Leonard Bernstein & Los Angeles Philharmonic
Married to the son of a diplomat, your title captures me and i enjoy shared whisps of your world that pervade mine regularly, too.. My husbands father has now retired , but reminents of his days as "his excellency" have shaped my husband, giving him an amazing world perspective — what fortunate childfen you have to shar this, too! I was happy to find your Thanksgiving song list, this morning and plan to share it (with a link) later this week. I love it, but Gordon Lightfoot sealed the deal — nothing says home like that song! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving week!