We Sing About Cheese but Not Turkey

And don't even get me started on cranberries

In case you missed it, I was on CNN last week talking about my book with the incredible Audie Cornish. If you want the copy of my book Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves signed, come out to Little City Book in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Thursday, December 4. I am going to be talking with journalist Michael Tedder and then signing some books. The event is free. But you need to RSVP to save your spot.

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We Sing About Cheese but Not Turkey

By Chris Dalla Riva

When Kanye West rapped, “Mr. West is in the buildin’ / Swagger on a hundred thousand trillion / Ayo I know I got it first / I’m Christopher Columbus, y’all just the Pilgrims / Thanksgiving, do we even got a question? / Hermès, Pastelle, I pass the dressin’” in his forgettable verse on T.I.’s “Swagga Like Us,” he probably had no idea that he was making history. This was the first time a top five hit would feature the word “Thanksgiving.”

Strangely, this wasn’t the first or last time Mr. West would turn to the November holiday in his music. On 2004’s “Family Business” he would rap “Super hard on Thanksgiving and Christmas, this can’t be right.” Almost a decade later, he would turn to the holiday again on “Bound 2”: “And ay, ayo, we made it to Thanksgiving / So ay, maybe we can make it to Christmas.” Most musicians aren’t as inspired by the holiday, though.

Across a database that I have of 7,711 hit song lyrics, “Swagga Like Us” is one of two songs to contain the word “Thanksgiving.” “Halloween,” by contrast, comes up in 6 songs. “Easter,” in 5. “Christmas,” in 43. I found this particularly odd given how much people say that they enjoy Thanksgiving in surveys. So, what’s the deal with music and Thanksgiving?

Since this newsletter always comes out on Thursday and Thanksgiving is a Thursday holiday, I usually try to write something related to the holiday for all those that celebrate. Last year, I tried to figure out if Thanksgiving music exists. The year before that, I looked into who people thank at the Grammys. This year, I wanted to write about when Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving food are mentioned in songs. The problem is that musicians almost never sing about food!

Turkey, potatoes, pasta, cranberries, carrots, stuffing, corn, pumpkin, pies, green beans, and ham are seldom mentioned in the lyrics of a popular song. The only foods mentioned with any degree of regularity are chicken and cheese. Oddly, “cheese” mentions have surged over the last few decades, albeit the word is often being used a metaphor.

What most fascinates me is the drinks that we most often sing about. Despite the fact that surveys indicate that beer is the alcohol that most Americans prefer, it’s not sung about that much in the pop world. Wine is the most common liquor found in popular song, though mentions of “liquor” have increased steadily over the last few decades.

Given how central food is to the human experience, it’s a bit odd that we don’t sing about it that much. So, if you’re a songwriter sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner this year, consider taking some inspiration into your next writing session. Happy Thanksgiving!

A New One
"The Birds Don’t Sing" by Clipse ft. John Legend
2025 - Hip-Hop

Albeit not as new as I prefer the new songs that I recommend in this newsletter—this came out in July—I’m compelled to feature the lead track off the excellent Clipse record because it features “Thanksgiving” in its first verse: “Told you I was going to Turks for Thanksgiving / I heard what I wanted to hear but didn’t listen.”

An Old One
"Dear Mama" by Tupac
1995 - Hip-Hop

Earlier, I noted that “Swagga Like Us” was one of two songs in my database to include the word “Thanksgiving” in its lyrics. The other is Tupac’s classic ode to his mother, “Dear Mama.” In verse two, Pac raps, “You just workin’ with the scraps you was given / And Mama made miracles every Thanksgiving.” The song peaked at number nine in 1995.

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If you enjoyed this piece, consider ordering my book Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves. The book chronicles how I listened to every number one hit in history and used what I learned during the journey to write a data-driven history of popular music from 1958 through today.

Should you want to sign a copy, come to Little City Books in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Thursday, December 4. Reserve your spot today!