4 of the Best “Thank You” Songs

In the Thanksgiving spirit, this list highlights four of the best “Thank You” songs.

Though they aren’t specific to the holiday—for that, see Adam Sandler’s “The Thanksgiving Song”—they each offer thanks in unique ways.

Andrew Gold created a timeless hit that accompanied one of the greatest sitcoms ever. Led Zeppelin dialed down the heavy metal blues and created a template for future power ballads. Next, Sly & The Family Stone recorded the most danceable “Thank You” single with a pointed message beneath the good times feel. And finally, thank you, Alanis.

While you’re giving thanks, be grateful for each other and these fine feel-good jams below.

“Thank You for Being a Friend” by Andrew Gold from All This and Heaven Too (1978)

Perhaps the greatest “Thank You” song became a cultural touchstone as the theme to the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls, recorded by Cynthia Fee. Even when listening to Andrew Gold’s original, it’s impossible not to picture Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty sitting around the show’s quaint kitchen table. It’s a soft rock masterpiece with subtly sophisticated chord changes and gratitude.

And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say, “Thank you for being a friend.”

“Thank You” by Led Zeppelin from Led Zeppelin II (1969)

Robert Plant’s ode to his wife Maureen Wilson shows the tender side of a band known for its volume and decadence. Jimmy Page layers acoustic guitars over a ghostly organ, performed by John Paul Jones. The folky track is sweet but heartbreaking, and John Bonham’s drumming gives a kind of urgency to Plant’s gratefulness. There’s also the fake ending, which fades with Jones’s majestic notes—like the passing of a loved one, glimpsed now only through photographs.

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
When mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me

“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” by Sly & The Family Stone (Single, 1969)

While many songs of gratitude are either ballads or earnest dedications, Sly & The Family Stone give thanks with funk. Larry Graham’s popping bass drives the track’s repetition, while The Family turns its appreciation into a celebration. Released as a double A-side with “Everybody Is a Star,” you can also find it on the group’s Greatest Hits collection. Still, there’s something else lurking beneath the party vibes. Sly Stone is frustrated with listeners missing the message of his songs. But he seems equally frustrated with himself: Dying young is hard to take / Selling out is harder.

Dance to the music
All night long
Everyday people
Sing a simple song

“Thank U” by Alanis Morissette from Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998)

“Thank U” opens with a list of pronouncements, a self-help mantra at once personal and universal. It shows both Alanis Morissette’s wit and extraordinarily powerful voice. She bends words in unpredictable ways, giving Taylor Swift a blueprint for her poetic confessionals. Morissette closes by belting soaring exclamations. It’s letting go, humility, and utter release. Exactly how it feels to say thank you.

Thank you, clarity
Thank you, thank you, silence

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Photo by CBS via Getty Images