“I’ve worked all week on my songs, and I hope you’ll be entertained,” said Adam Sandler before plucking the first chords to a new song on his guitar, “and a little moved.” on November 21, 1992, Sandler debuted his “The Thanksgiving Song” on SNL during the Weekend Update sketch with then-host Kevin Nealon.
“C’mon, Kevin,” says Sandler, asking Nealon to join in singing a few lines in. “Oh, no, that’s okay,” says the anchor. “Oh, it’ll be fun,” responds Sandler. The two go on singing one line together: Turkey for me, and turkey for you / Let’s eat the turkey in my big brown shoe.
Co-written by Sandler and Saturday Night Live writers Ian Maxtone-Graham and Robert Smigel, “The Thanksgiving Song” made its SNL debut on November 21, 1992, during the Weekend Update sketch with then-host Kevin Nealon.
Also known as “The Turkey Song,” the crux of Sandler’s comical lyrics concentrate on consuming turkey and are peppered with pop culture references, including Elvis Presley’s 1959 compliation 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong, Sammy Davis Jr. and his one eye, a movie he once saw with 1940s actress and pin-up model Betty Grable, Good Times actor Jimmie Walker’s famous catchphrase (“Dynomite”), how the Mets traded Darryl Strawberry, model Cheryl Tiegs, and former boxer Mike Tyson giving someone a venereal disease.
Turkey for me
Turkey for you
Let’s eat the turkey
In my big brown shoe
Love to eat the turkey
At the table
I once saw a movie
With Betty Grable
Eat that turkey
All night long
Fifty million Elvis fans
Can’t be wrong
Turkey lurkey doo and
Turkey lurkey dap
I eat that turkey
Then I take a nap
Videos by American Songwriter
Thanksgiving is a special night
Jimmy Walker used to say Dynomite
That’s right
Turkey with gravy and cranberry
Can’t believe the Mets traded Darryl Strawberry
Turkey for you and
Turkey for me
Can’t believe Tyson
Gave that girl V.D.
White meat, dark meat
You just can’t lose
I fell off my moped
And I got a bruise
Turkey in the oven
And the buns in the toaster
I’ll never take down
My Cheryl Tiegs poster
Wrap the turkey up
In aluminum foil
My brother likes to masturbate
With baby oil
Turkey and sweet potato pie
Sammy Davis Jr.
Only had one eye
As the story winds down, it centers around family gatherings, corduroy pants, and wishing turkey cost a nickel.
Turkey for the girls and
Turkey for the boys
My favorite kind of pants
Are corduroys
Gobble gobble goo and
Gobble gobble gickel
I wish turkey
Only cost a nickel
Oh, I love turkey on Thanksgiving
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Thanksgiving and Bruce Springsteen
In 1993, a sideburned, scruffier-looking Sandler returned with the “Thanksgiving Song” on Weekend Update and sang it as Bruce Springsteen. That year, he also included the holiday song on his debut comedy album, They’re All Gonna Laugh at You! featuring SNL castmates the late Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Rob Schneider, and David Spade, along with then-writers Smigel and Conan O’Brien.
“I had no idea whether or not people would like the album,” recalled Sandler in 2013 of his debut. “‘The Thanksgiving Song’ getting on radio helped a lot; it gave some awareness. ‘The Thanksgiving Song’ was a little dirty, and then people got the record, and we hit them pretty hard with the really dirty stuff. I’ve had a few mothers yell at me over the years that their kids used to listen to the album in the basement.”
By ’94, Sandler returned to SNL with another holiday classic, “The Chanukah Song,” co-written with Maxtone-Graham. “The Thanksgiving Song” remained a staple around the holidays and was even featured in the 1997 Beavis and Butt-Head Do Thanksgiving holiday special, featuring former MTV News anchor Kurt Loder, Fiona Apple, and Marilyn Manson.
Photo: Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank
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