Rant #3,583: Birds of a Feather

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and as you know, I am looking forward to this year's celebration as much as any in recent memory.

I can actually participate this year, not be the bump on the couch ... err ... log that I was last year.

Socializing is going to be paramount, and all bets are off with me staying on my diet on the holiday--

I will do the best that I can, but I just know that I will fall off the health wagon a little bit on that special day--

A day that I will start out like every other Thanksgiving morning of my life--watching "March of the Wooden Soldiers" on TV like I do every year.

It is just a great family movie, and you can't beat Laurel and Hardy, who truly shine in this classic.

After doing the podcast the other day, it got me to thinking about another theme--

The top five Thanksgiving songs over the past 60 years or so.

None of them really have to do with Thanksgiving per se, but they all allude to the holiday via a mention of the "bird" or the word "turkey," so they qualify, at least as far as I am concerned.

And one song in particular has been so associated with Thanksgiving that as far as I am concerned, it is a Thanksgiving song.

So here are my favorite Thanksgiving-themed songs, even though they might not have to do with Thanksgiving directly.

In no particular order:

Raiders: "The Turkey" 

Raiders: "Birds of a Feather"

Trashmen: "Surfin' Bird"

John Lennon: "Cold Turkey"

Arlo Guthrie: "Alice's Restaurant Massacree"

Funny that the Raiders--better known as Paul Revere and the Raiders--would have two songs on the list.

This all-American band had plenty of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and while the first song is a funny "b" side, the other tune, written by Joe South, was a very mild hit. 

And I always liked the Raiders' version best.

Whst's more, "The Turkey" was the "b" side to "Birds of a Feather"!

Go figure that! A ready-made Thanksgiving classic, all on one record!

What more can I say about this frenetic Trashmen's song, other than--

"The bird is the word!"

And then we have Arlo Guthrie's 18-minute classic, and again, all I can say is--

"You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant ... but NOT Alice!"

And the last song has absolutely nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but if you are addicted to turkey ... no, I don't think John Lennon quite had that in mind when he wrote--and personally experienced--this situation.

So with that being said, have a great Thanksgiving, and I will speak to you again on Monday, so have a great Black Friday and holiday weekend too!