From the iconic Macy’s Day Parade, to that tender turkey and perfectly seasoned batch of stuffing you’ve been pining over for hours, on over to spending quality time with loved ones; few days are better than Thanksgiving.

Music is a daily integral part of most of our lives, but for some reason it plays an even bigger role come the holiday season. Whether you throw some energetic modern music on to fuel your cooking, or play the classics softly in the background while your family enjoys dinner; Thanksgiving is full of music.

With that being said, I often wonder why there aren’t hundreds of classic Thanksgiving songs like there are for Christmas. Imagine Mariah Carey or Michael Buble releasing Thanksgiving/food themed albums come turkey day? It’d be phenomenally great and weird..but great nonetheless.

Seeing how finding iconic Thanksgiving songs isn’t all that easy, we put together a “Songs for Thanksgiving” Spotify music playlist for you to use this year. We’ve got a few of the holidays’ biggest hits like “Thanksgiving Song” by Adam Sandler, plenty of songs with food titles and other songs that allude to the joy we get from being home and connecting with family and loved ones.

We’ve got an eclectic mix of songs across almost every genre and spanning several different decades. Take a look below for our playlist and the reasons why we chose each song. Tweet us @coldwellbanker if you have suggestions on other great songs to play during Thanksgiving and we’ll be sure to update our list!

1. Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue – This song is dedicated to those who may have relocated to other states and brave long road trips or airports to head back “home” to spend Thanksgiving with family.

2. Big Parade by The Lumineers – What’s Thanksgiving without the “Big Parade”? The holiday just wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for the Macy’s parade and those awesomely large floating cartoon characters…and Santa Claus.

3. Thank You by Jay Z – Mr. Carter eloquently says, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, you’re far too kind” on this aptly titled song. Thanks for the reminder Jay, I’ll be sure to rap this at the dinner table when I ask someone to pass the salt.

4. Comin’ Home Baby by Mel Torme – The first non-contemporary song on our “Songs for Thanksgiving” playlist was released in 1962 and similarly to Motley Crue’s song, encapsulates that feeling of rushing home to be with loved ones.

5 I’ve Got Plenty to be Thankful for by Bing Crosby – Bing says he doesn’t have the biggest yard or the fanciest things but he still has plenty to be thankful for. In the hustle and bustle of our lives we sometimes lose sight of how much we do have. It’s always good to take a step back and acknowledge that we have a lot to be thankful for.

6. Mashed Potato Time by Dee Dee Sharp – Turkey, stuffing and…mashed potatoes! Enough said.

7. Baby, it’s Cold Outside by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan – We continue in a string of more classic music from yesteryear with this classic holiday song. There’s a nip in the air by Thanksgiving assuredly, but we also all know that once that last slice of apple pie gets eaten, we set our sights on the Christmas and Hanukkah  and this song perfectly captures the feeling of that season.

8 Stuffy Turkey by Thelonius Monk – This all instrumental track is a great song to play quietly in the background as your carve your…stuffy turkeys.

9. Thanksgiving Theme by Vince Guaraldi Trio – This lesser known song from A Charlie Brown Christmas is another delightful accompaniment to your Thanksgiving festivities.

10.  Wing$ by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – While this song is a celebration of Macklemore’s obsession with the Michael Jordan Nike shoe, I figured it’d be better to dedicate “Wing$” to the millions of turkey wings that will be eaten on Thanksgiving.

11. Eat It by Weird Al Yankovic – No Thanksgiving playlist could be complete without including one of the most iconic food songs of all time. After I struggle through my second serving of food and peer painfully at scrumptious desserts, I’ll take a page out of Weird Al’s book and say to myself, “Don’t you tell me you’re full, just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it.”

12. I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons – For those who are surrounded by the amazing smells of pies, turkey, stuffing and other treats as they’re being prepared all day, Mumford’s “I Will Wait” is a perfect mantra to repeat. “I will wait…and not eat all the pumpkin pie before my guests come over.

13. Thank You by Dido – While most remember parts of this song from the sample Eminem pulled from it for “Stan” in 2000, this beautiful song is a great track to throw on towards the latter part of your night.

14. The Thanksgiving Song by Adam Sandler – It is quite surprising that one of the best known and flat out most iconic Thanksgiving songs comes from a comedian and not even a musician. We’re definitely saving the best for last here as Sandler’s tune is both hilarious and resoundingly true as exemplified by this complex lyric: “Turkey lurkey doo and Turkey lurkey dap I eat that turkey Then I take a nap”.