The obvious choice for this week. We'll be going to my aunt's house in NJ for Thanksgiving. It's my side of the family and we've got the same issues that every other family deals with: dysfunctional relationships, old parents, people who get on your nerves, ongoing separation/divorce, etc. So I'm basically looking forward to the two days and dreading them all at the same time. Yep, that's thanksgiving (and of course Patterson nails it).



Grandmother's wheelchair is sitting in the corner
We all sure love her, but the little ones avoid her
Cause she's gray-haired and wrinkled and her burden looks heavy
Ninety years of survival can look awful scary

Papa's building something and has since history
But what he's building is still a mystery
It's big and it's twisting and shaped convoluted
It don't have a function but you better salute it
And it will never be finished but I guess that's the point
It just gives him a filter and psychological ointment
He woke up real early but he's late for his appointment
And I sure wish that I had smoked me a joint

It's Thanksgiving and Jesus, I'm thankful
For abundance and bounty and a big tall stiff drink-full
And the love of your mother and the love of mine too
Thanksgiving's almost over and Christmas is soon

Mama is trying to live in the present
Don't let him have a heart attack before I pay off the presents
Granddaddy's gone but she still feels his presence
He tried to call but he didn't leave a message
It's Thanksgiving and Jesus I'm thankful…

So put the food on the table and Papa says a blessing
They're cutting up some turkey and gobbling some dressing
My Aunt's praising Palin and my niece loves Obama
My uncle came to dinner wearing his pajamas
Thank God for the filter that enables some distance
From the screaming and crying and the needs of assistance
You wonder why I drink and curse the holidays
Blessed be my family from 300 miles away
It's Thanksgiving and Jesus I'm thankful…

Came around to this one in a big way. At first it wasn't one of my favorites on GGB, but it's one I find myself singing all the time. Great lyrics, great vocal performance, just a knockout song. Still not entirely convinced it shouldn't have been exclusive to that 10" as a b-side to UTBAC, still not sure how it fits on GGB, but yeah, love it. Reading the lyrics just now made me wanna hear it again, in fact. Don't mind if I do!

It always reminds me of the last time we went to Thanksgiving at my wife's parents' house. After one calamity after another as we were sitting down for dinner, I looked at her and said, "Don't you wish we were high right now?" My wife has never really been "into that" but without hesitation responded in the affirmative.

That 10" is one of the most prized records in my collection.

I always liked this one. My favorite line is "I sure wish I had smoked me a joint" which holds as much truth as anything else Patterson has wrote.

I agree - was a top 5 on GGB for me from the start, and has grown on me even more over time. The older I get, the more and more my Thanksgivings sound closer to that song.

I remember seeing it live during a PH solo show at Alley Katz in Richmond about 5 years back and it was a bit dirge-like. I love what the full band treatment did to the song.

Sactochris: The local record store still has a couple couple (I saw two the last time I was in) of that 10", if you're interested in acquiring a backup copy, still sealed.

East Coast Music & Video
1109 Charles Boulevard
Greenville, NC 27858-3318
(252) 758-4251

Inane political conversation, screaming, crying and needs of assistance definitely call for a good tall stiff drink and a joint!Love the 90 years of survival line...

Finally hearing this live in Winston may well have been the show's highlight for me.

Tyler wrote:Sactochris: The local record store still has a couple couple (I saw two the last time I was in) of that 10", if you're interested in acquiring a backup copy, still sealed.

East Coast Music & Video
1109 Charles Boulevard
Greenville, NC 27858-3318
(252) 758-4251

Thanks very much for the info. I actually have a sealed backup copy also. I can be a bit obsessive at times. That's just how I roll.

Tyler wrote:Sactochris: The local record store still has a couple couple (I saw two the last time I was in) of that 10", if you're interested in acquiring a backup copy, still sealed.

East Coast Music & Video
1109 Charles Boulevard
Greenville, NC 27858-3318
(252) 758-4251

Thanks very much for the info. I actually have a sealed backup copy also. I can be a bit obsessive at times. That's just how I roll.

Visiting my sister in Nashville for the second year in a row. Packed up the butter ball and all the veggies and spending Thanksgiving in the comforts of a campground with her,dad, and mom. No cousins with their kids, or are you seeing anyone? questions, or bragging about how this one or that one is doing so well. Just the ones that matter, my iPod, and a trip to Grimeys to spend the holiday.

Patterson wrote the perfect holiday song with this one.
Will be listening to it and "Holiday" by James McMurtry quite a bit this weekend!
Happy Thanksgiving Yall!!

Vids on the main page

http://threedimesdown.com/

no "holiday", but a damn good song.

For the first time in the history of song of the week, we are going to do a repeat.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and don't forget that big tall stiff drink-full. You're gonna need it.

Late4Church wrote:Visiting my sister in Nashville for the second year in a row. Packed up the butter ball and all the veggies and spending Thanksgiving in the comforts of a campground with her,dad, and mom. No cousins with their kids, or are you seeing anyone? questions, or bragging about how this one or that one is doing so well. Just the ones that matter, my iPod, and a trip to Grimeys to spend the holiday.

Patterson wrote the perfect holiday song with this one.
Will be listening to it and "Holiday" by James McMurtry quite a bit this weekend!
Happy Thanksgiving Yall!!

Late, that sounds like a perfect holiday. Enjoy.

I'll be sure to smoke me a joint.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50135385n

Fast Forward to the quote from the lady at the very end...2:58. It reminded TC & Me of "The Thanksgiving Filter"

maybe we should expand the track of the week to include unreleased & solo tunes

Smitty wrote:maybe we should expand the track of the week to include unreleased & solo tunes

or dbt could release a new double lp using kinks/misfits as inspiration.

either way, really.

Smitty wrote:maybe we should expand the track of the week to include unreleased & solo tunes

Hmmmm...it sounds like we're in for a lot of posts by Smitty.

beantownbubba wrote:

Smitty wrote:maybe we should expand the track of the week to include unreleased & solo tunes

Hmmmm...it sounds like we're in for a lot of posts by Smitty.

We've got about 5 or 6 weeks worth of "official" tracks left, then it's Smitty's baby.

Clams wrote:

beantownbubba wrote:

Smitty wrote:maybe we should expand the track of the week to include unreleased & solo tunes

Hmmmm...it sounds like we're in for a lot of posts by Smitty.

We've got about 5 or 6 weeks worth of "official" tracks left, then it's Smitty's baby.

I knew we were gettin' close.

Btw, listening to the thanksgiving filter all week has got me diving back into Go Go Boots in a big way. Always nice to revisit a record a year or so later.

I like this song ok which is pretty much how I feel about a lot of the GGB record. It's a good song but given the choice between this and something like Sinkhole it's a no brainer.

I probably like it better than I did early on because I just couldn't relate to it. I actually enjoy being around my family. The description of a family gathering being a miserable exercise in patience and restraint just seemed weird to me and I thought, "Jeez, really? Are people this freaking miserable? Why?"

But then I got to thinking about Thanksgiving with my wife's family. And while I don't smoke, alcohol would sure be a big help on that front.

The line about granny has a whole new meaning this year as their will be an empty place at the table. Lost my grandma a few weeks back. 91 years old.

Clams wrote:Btw, listening to the thanksgiving filter all week has got me diving back into Go Go Boots in a big way. Always nice to revisit a record a year or so later.

Word, Clams. Just put on the vinyl after an early morning Whole Foods run. With a few exceptions I think it's just a great, great album. The fact that it's so different from anything else they've done makes it that much better, in my opinion.

Have you every noticed the way the last note of The Thanksgiving Filter rings into the first note of Pulaski? I love that.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Perfect song for those of us who hate the holidays.

I haven't been a Christmas fan since I was eleven or twelve years old but until I got married Thanksgiving was a holiday I could tolerate. Growing up it was Mom, Dad, my brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmother. Everyone behaved and the food was great. Nothing heavy. There was no school, my brothers and I would play in the woods or get a touch football game going with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood, then come inside and eat. But once I got married? My ex's family would bicker and fight. My mother in-law would always overcook the turkey. I'd have to wear Dockers or something because my ex told me that jeans and a Stones t-shirt were embarrassing. Then my mother in-law would make my ex wake up at five AM the next day for some black Friday b.s. Ruined Thanksgiving for me. The first year I was divorced I went to a church and had Thanksgiving with the homeless. My ex invited me to her mother's but I passed.

I've gotta be honest, that's a depressing post.

I love both Thanksgiving and Christmas.