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" (from his Symphony No. 9). Sorry, Ludwig! But it is all in good fun. The familiar "Turkey In The Straw" motif gets things off to a lively start before the singing commences at measure 9. The recording is particularly energizing in a bluegrassy sort of way and includes banjo, guitar, bass, drums, jaw harp, and a whole mess o' fiddles (strings). We wouldn't blame you if you wanted to add a bit of stompin' and clappin' to the beat as well (if your mouths aren't too full).

Feel free to substitute any other foods that you wish in this song. In fact, ask your kids if they have any special holiday foods they don't see here that their own families include as a part of their own traditions. You might have some interesting and exotic additions to include!

To offer you flexibility in performance, or just to use for rehearsing, we have created a second version of the piece that's a bit slower than the one on the recording. You can find it at our web site with all the other extras for this issue. (See details on page 79.)