Great music always makes fans feel grateful, but the connection between sound and succor gains extra resonance on Thanksgiving. Some songs even spell out their message of thanks right in their titles. Here’s a bunch, joined by a quirky range of odes that also hit the right grace notes.  Housed on the classic band’s second album, this enriching ballad draws goosebumps through the warmth of Page’s melody and the surge in John Paul Jones’ organ work. Together, they idealise Robert Plant’s lyrical ode to a love worth treasuring.  Though its title might not please spelling teachers, Sly Stone’s 1969 funk-pop declaration endures by positioning self-expression as the key to happiness. In an age marred by escalating attacks on individual freedoms, Sly’s anthem of personal liberation takes on a fresh urgency.  Rappers aren’t generally known for their humility. But even the guy inflated enough to call himself Hova went all Gandhi in this track from The Blueprint 3. Of course, Jay can’t help but add a few brags and jabs along the way. But, by hip-hop’s cheeky standards, these lyrics rate as virtual prostration: “Please don’t bow in my presence/How am I a legend?/I got 10 #1 albums/Maybe now 11/More hits than a Now! 11/That is no reason to treat me like I’m somehow outta heaven.”  Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without a spin of Guthrie’s witty classic. This year marks the track’s 50th anniversary, which will be marked by scores of radio specials, as well as Arlo’s own live take at Carnegie Hall on the day itself. The 18-minute long story-song uses a dizzying array of verses to tell a tale which exposes hypocrisy, stupidity and every day corruption for what they are.  In this catchy hip-hop smash, the rapper born Sean Anderson gives props to his late grandmother, re-states his commitment to prizing music over acclaim, and, ultimately, recognizes the beauty of life in light of its fragility.  A despondent Dido kicks off this nuanced song of thanks. First, she lists what’s gone wrong in her life before, at last, finding redemption in the love of a friend. Ironically, Dido’s sumptuous, and caring, ballad wound up being sampled in Stan, an especially alarming track by Eminem. Em threads Dido’s original vocal through his own tale of a psychotic fan who writes to the rapper and, when he doesn’t get the response he wants, tortures and murders his girlfriend. Interesting stuff, but you’ll probably want to stick with Dido’s take on this particular day.  The connection between music and appreciation doesn’t get more explicit than this smash from Sweden’s original pop perfectionists. In their kitschy concoction, they whip together a cabaret-style vocal, a music hall piano, and lush strings, all backed by a choir that suggests a sing-a-long by a family of elves.  Speaking of family, if you’ve had enough of your drunk uncle and intolerant cousin, this doozy should act as the ultimate room clearer. One earful of Reed’s collage of feedback and white noise will drown out any argument and send everyone packing. If, by chance, that doesn’t work, chase it with Yoko Ono’s Why?  From the great bard’s first “Christian album” (Slow Train Coming), comes a song that has become a gospel standard. Dylan’s lyrics make clear that no matter how rich or mighty a person might be, at some point everyone has to bow to someone else’s will to make the world work.  The vocal by the king of jazz lent a grandfatherly wisdom to this pean to nature’s purity. Armstrong was 66 years old when the song became a hit, a good age to appreciate the earth’s bounty, a quality made manifest on Thanksgiving.
Gratitude isn’t an emotion often expressed in pop music, but these songs have it – with a noisy interlude from Lou Reed if family time gets to be too much