KaraokeList

KaraokeList › What to sing › Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving karaoke songs

What to sing

Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving karaoke songs

Thanksgiving karaoke songs depend on who's in the room. Friends at the bar, three generations on the couch, or the hometown crowd the night before each want something different.

Get KaraokeList, free

Before you sing it

Where it sits

How hard

Easy goingSome effortA big sing

Most songs below show where they sit and how hard they are. Open one for what to sing next and a little trivia.

Friendsgiving is the easy one. You're with people who like you, so pick something the whole table can sing at you, back at you, and over you.

Family karaoke at home is a different room. Grandma knows one decade, the kids know another, and everyone hears every word. Pick songs both ends of the table already know, and keep it clean.

The night before Thanksgiving is the bar's busiest night of the year: everyone's home, and half the room went to school together. Sign up early, and pick something about old times.

Friendsgiving

Friendsgiving karaoke: songs about your friends

For the table that cooked together. Sing them to each other.

  • I'll Be There for You

    The Rembrandts

    The Friends theme, and Friendsgiving's unofficial anthem. Nothing in it is hard to reach, and the table does the claps for you.

    a table: one voice on the verses, everyone on the claps and the chorus

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort
    Before you sing itMiddle · Some effort

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Thank You for Being a FriendAndrew Gold
    2. Song 2With a Little Help from My FriendsThe Beatles
    3. Song 3Lean on MeBill Withers

    Did you know

    1. The song was co-written by the creators of Friends to serve as the sitcom's theme song.
    2. A radio DJ famously spliced the original one-minute cut into a full-length loop, prompting a full studio recording.

  • Thank You for Being a Friend

    Andrew Gold

    The song behind the Golden Girls theme: bouncy, sincere, and the title comes round often enough for the whole table to join.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Easy going
    Before you sing itMiddle · Easy going

    Sits in the middle

    Easy going

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1With a Little Help from My FriendsThe Beatles
    2. Song 2Lean on MeBill Withers
    3. Song 3You've Got a FriendCarole King

    Did you know

    1. A re-recorded version by Cynthia Fee became the beloved theme song for the hit sitcom The Golden Girls.

  • With a Little Help from My Friends

    The Beatles

    Ringo's song, so it stays comfortable until one big held note at the very end. In the middle, your friends ask the questions and you answer.

    a table: they ask the questions, you answer

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Easy going
    Before you sing itMiddle · Easy going

    Sits in the middle

    Easy going

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Lean on MeBill Withers
    2. Song 2You've Got a FriendCarole King
    3. Song 3Count on MeBruno Mars

    Did you know

    1. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the song specifically for Ringo Starr to sing.
    2. Ringo originally balked at singing the opening line because he feared fans would actually throw tomatoes at him.

  • Lean on Me

    Bill Withers

    Slow and plain, with no big moment to miss. You just have to mean it.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Easy going
    Before you sing itMiddle · Easy going

    Sits in the middle

    Easy going

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1You've Got a FriendCarole King
    2. Song 2Count on MeBruno Mars
    3. Song 3Mamma MiaABBA

    Did you know

    1. It is one of only a handful of songs to reach number one on the US charts by two different artists.

  • You've Got a Friend

    Carole King

    Gentle and conversational, closer to talking to someone than performing at them.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort
    Before you sing itMiddle · Some effort

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Count on MeBruno Mars
    2. Song 2Mamma MiaABBA
    3. Song 3Glory DaysBruce Springsteen

  • Count on Me

    Bruno Mars

    Short, soft and strummed on a ukulele, with a tune you'll have by the second chorus.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Easy going
    Before you sing itMiddle · Easy going

    Sits in the middle

    Easy going

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Mamma MiaABBA
    2. Song 2Glory DaysBruce Springsteen
    3. Song 3Jack & DianeJohn Mellencamp

  • We Are Family

    Sister Sledge

    A chorus built for a crowd, so you only have to carry the verses. Grab the friend who cooked the turkey.

    a group: one on the verses, everyone on the chorus

    ListenLyrics

    Sits on the high side

    Some effort
    Before you sing itHigh side · Some effort

    Sits on the high side

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Let It GoIdina Menzel
    2. Song 2HappyPharrell Williams
    3. Song 3SeptemberEarth, Wind & Fire

    Did you know

    1. It served as the rally song for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team during their championship season.

Family at home

Family karaoke at home: songs every generation knows

For the living room after dinner. Clean, familiar, and fine with a nine-year-old and a grandparent on the same microphone.

  • You've Got a Friend in Me

    Randy Newman

    The Toy Story song. Low and half-talked, so the grown-ups can do it while the kids sing along.

    ListenLyrics

  • Yellow Submarine

    The Beatles

    Another one Ringo sang. It sits low, it's daft, and everyone else can do the noises in the background.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits on the low side

    Easy going
    Before you sing itLow side · Easy going

    Sits on the low side

    Easy going

    Did you know

    1. Ringo Starr sang lead vocals on this playful track written primarily by Paul McCartney.
    2. It inspired an animated musical fantasy film of the same name released two years later.

  • Mamma Mia

    ABBA

    Grandparents know the record and the kids know the films, so you'll have backup. The verses hurry but never strain, and the chorus comes round until you've got it.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort
    Before you sing itMiddle · Some effort

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Glory DaysBruce Springsteen
    2. Song 2Jack & DianeJohn Mellencamp
    3. Song 31985Bowling for Soup

    Did you know

    1. The song inspired the title of the global smash hit jukebox musical and subsequent movies.

  • Let It Go

    Idina Menzel

    Starts quiet and ends enormous. Hand it to the kid who's been waiting all dinner to sing it.

    a kid and a grown-up: the grown-up takes the quiet start, the kid takes the big finish

    ListenLyrics

    Sits on the high side

    A big sing
    Before you sing itHigh side · A big sing

    Sits on the high side

    A big sing

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1HappyPharrell Williams
    2. Song 2SeptemberEarth, Wind & Fire
    3. Song 3Summer of '69Bryan Adams

    Did you know

    1. Idina Menzel recorded the iconic vocal performance while voicing the magical queen Elsa.
    2. The song won both an Academy Award and a Grammy Award.

  • Happy

    Pharrell Williams

    The chorus climbs more than you'd think, but by then the kids are singing it with you, so a nervous uncle is never on his own.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits on the high side

    Some effort
    Before you sing itHigh side · Some effort

    Sits on the high side

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1SeptemberEarth, Wind & Fire
    2. Song 2Summer of '69Bryan Adams
    3. Song 3We Are FamilySister Sledge

    Did you know

    1. Originally written for the animated film Despicable Me 2, it became a massive worldwide phenomenon.
    2. The track was released alongside an interactive twenty-four-hour-long music video.

  • Twist and Shout

    The Beatles

    About two and a half minutes of call and answer, so the whole family can be your backing singers.

    a family: one leads, everyone else answers

    ListenLyrics

    Sits high

    A big sing
    Before you sing itHigh · A big sing

    Sits high

    A big sing

    Did you know

    1. John Lennon recorded his raw lead vocal in a single take at the end of a grueling marathon recording session.
    2. The track gained a massive new audience when featured in the iconic parade scene of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

  • September

    Earth, Wind & Fire

    Weddings have played it for decades, so every age group knows it. The verses move fast, but the chorus belongs to whoever's dancing.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits on the high side

    Some effort
    Before you sing itHigh side · Some effort

    Sits on the high side

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Summer of '69Bryan Adams
    2. Song 2We Are FamilySister Sledge
    3. Song 3Let It GoIdina Menzel

    Did you know

    1. Co-writer Allee Willis asked Maurice White what the nonsensical chorus syllables meant, and he replied they just felt good.
    2. The song is celebrated worldwide every year on the specific date mentioned in its opening line.

The night before

The night before Thanksgiving: songs for the hometown bar

Everyone's back in town, and the bar turns into a reunion nobody planned. These are about old friends, small towns and the good old days.

  • Glory Days

    Bruce Springsteen

    It opens with running into an old high-school friend at a bar. The verses are half-told stories, and the room takes the chorus.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort
    Before you sing itMiddle · Some effort

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Jack & DianeJohn Mellencamp
    2. Song 21985Bowling for Soup
    3. Song 3HomePhillip Phillips

    Did you know

    1. The song's story was inspired by Springsteen unexpectedly running into a former Little League teammate at a bar.

  • Jack & Diane

    John Mellencamp

    A small-town story with talky, low verses. The stripped-down part in the middle is just voices and clapping, and the bar supplies both.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort
    Before you sing itMiddle · Some effort

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 11985Bowling for Soup
    2. Song 2HomePhillip Phillips
    3. Song 3Drift AwayDobie Gray

    Did you know

    1. It spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the early '80s.

  • Night Moves

    Bob Seger

    Looking back on being young, sung low and unhurried. Nothing in it asks you to shout.

    ListenLyrics

    Some effort
    Before you sing itSome effort
    Some effort

    Did you know

    1. Seger was inspired to write the song after watching the coming-of-age movie American Graffiti.
    2. It became Bob Seger's breakthrough hit and cemented his status as a heartland rock icon.

  • Summer of '69

    Bryan Adams

    Pure nostalgia for your first band. It climbs a little, but the old crowd will be singing it right back at you.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits on the high side

    Some effort
    Before you sing itHigh side · Some effort

    Sits on the high side

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1We Are FamilySister Sledge
    2. Song 2Let It GoIdina Menzel
    3. Song 3HappyPharrell Williams

    Did you know

    1. Adams has stated that the title refers to the intimate romantic position rather than the actual calendar year.

  • 1985

    Bowling for Soup

    Shouty pop-punk, so nobody expects it pretty; just keep up with the words. It's about someone stuck in her glory years, and tonight half the bar is.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort
    Before you sing itMiddle · Some effort

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1HomePhillip Phillips
    2. Song 2Drift AwayDobie Gray
    3. Song 3I'll Be There for YouThe Rembrandts

    Did you know

    1. The song was originally written and recorded by the band SR-71 before Bowling for Soup covered it.

  • Home

    Phillip Phillips

    It's about making a home for someone who needs one, which suits a night like this. The chorus is simple, and the bar has it by the second time round.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort
    Before you sing itMiddle · Some effort

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1Drift AwayDobie Gray
    2. Song 2I'll Be There for YouThe Rembrandts
    3. Song 3Thank You for Being a FriendAndrew Gold

    Did you know

    1. Phillips performed this coronation song right after winning season eleven of American Idol.
    2. It set a record as the best-selling single in the history of American Idol coronation songs.

  • Drift Away

    Dobie Gray

    Mellow from start to finish, for late in the night when the reunion has run long.

    ListenLyrics

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort
    Before you sing itMiddle · Some effort

    Sits in the middle

    Some effort

    Sing nextSame spot for your voice

    1. Song 1I'll Be There for YouThe Rembrandts
    2. Song 2Thank You for Being a FriendAndrew Gold
    3. Song 3With a Little Help from My FriendsThe Beatles

    Did you know

    1. Written by Mentor Williams, Dobie Gray's version became an iconic staple of 1970s radio.

Remember what worked by next November

A year is long enough to forget which song went well. Log each turn in KaraokeList: stars, plus Too high, Just right or Too low.

Your list and log work with no signal, handy at Grandma's. Tag a song Skill if you can really sing it, Fun if the family loved it anyway.

Want something new for next year? Tap the Magic Mic for songs you don't have yet, each with its reason.

Questions

What are good Thanksgiving karaoke songs?

There aren't many songs about Thanksgiving itself, so sing about the people instead. Lean on Me, With a Little Help from My Friends and Thank You for Being a Friend all fit, and Glory Days suits the night before, when everyone's back in town.

What should we sing at Friendsgiving karaoke?

Songs about friends that a table can share. I'll Be There for You lets everyone do the claps, With a Little Help from My Friends is built as questions and answers, and We Are Family has a chorus made for a crowd.

What are good family karaoke songs for all ages?

Songs both grandparents and kids know, like Mamma Mia, September and Twist and Shout. You've Got a Friend in Me and Yellow Submarine sit low and easy for the grown-ups, and Let It Go is for the kid who's been waiting all day.

What should I sing at the bar the night before Thanksgiving?

Something about old times, for a bar full of familiar faces. Glory Days, Jack & Diane and Summer of '69 all fit, and Drift Away is easy on a voice late in the night.

Also try

Ask Magic Mic for a Thanksgiving song →

Find a bar tonight →

Know what you’re singing before you’re called.

Keep every karaoke song you nail. Stuck? Tap the Magic Mic for your next one, and it tells you why.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play