The Day After Thanksgiving

Welcome to John's first partner song! He wanted to write a humorous song about Black Friday, and from that concept came two trains of thought: Those who enjoy going out on Black Friday, and those who don't. There are folks who enjoy getting out there, camping in front of their favorite store, battling the elements, and hopefully getting the best deals. For them, it may even be a family tradition. Other folks prefer to sleep in, eat leftover turkey, and do all their shopping online from the comfort of an easy chair, waiting for Cyber Monday. This song takes a lighthearted look at these opposing views.

While working on this, it occurred to us that this song has a musical quality to it, as in, a song from a musical. That's not a bad point. It should be acted out, hammed up a bit. Of course, being a partner song, you'll need to divide your singers up into part 1 and part 2. Part 1 is all for shopping on Black Friday, and they should sing upbeat and positively! They think, "Yay, this is fun!" Part 2 is equally enthusiastic – about staying home on Black Friday, and thinks the folks singing part 1 have lost their marbles. "Why would you do that to yourself?," they think. Have them sing with these attitudes in mind.

Part 1 sings the first and third time at bar 5, and part 2 sings the second and third time at bar 5. The upshot is that we hear each separately first, then together. On our recording, the guide for part 1 is an electric piano, and the guide for part 2 is a quirky clav. When the song comes to the final bar, the kids shout the one thing they actually agree on – whether you shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday – Shop!

In performance, we recommend having parts 1 and 2 on opposite sides, showing their disbelief at each other's point of view. It should be downright silly – gapping mouths, shaking heads, etc. To emphasize the point further, kids could dress for their parts: winter coats, hats, and scarves for part 1; pajamas, slippers, and robes for part 2.