This year, how about giving thanks in the form of a song?
As Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top would say, it's a killer-diller way to express your gratitude.
The thank-you song is a very specific musical subgenre that includes dozens of memorable titles.
Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin wrote his Thank You to the lady in his life for standing by him during lean times. (Never mind that they're no longer together.)
It has been said that Natalie Merchant's thank-you song, Kind and Generous, is a love letter to her fans.
Alanis Morissette's cryptic Thank U extends shout-outs to India, terror, disillusionment, frailty, consequence and silence.
John Denver, in one of his biggest hits, less complicatedly thanked God that he was a country boy.
When we asked various musical artists to single out their favorite thank-you songs, we got some interesting feedback.
Rhett Miller, frontman for the Old 97's, says his favorite is a cover version of I Thank You by fellow Texas rockers ZZ Top.
"When I was 8 years old, I bought my first LP," Miller recalls. "I spent $6.99 of my allowance at a grocery store on Mockingbird [Lane]. ZZ Top's 1979 album, Degüello, featured the song Cheap Sunglasses, a regional hit on FM rock radio in Dallas.
"But my favorite song on the record was the track that opened up Side A, a cover of an old soul song popularized by Sam & Dave called I Thank You. To this day, it will appear in my head for no apparent reason and stay there all day. 'You didn't have to love me like you did/but you did, but you did/and I thank you,' Billy F. Gibbons repeats like a growled mantra over a dirty guitar groove.
"I recommend it for late Thanksgiving night after the turkey has been eaten and the family has gone home."
Meanwhile, LeAnn Rimes, who also has North Texas roots, likes Morissette's Thank U best.
"I love the sentiment of this song," she says. "There's something beautiful about an awakening, where you start appreciating the downfalls and darkness just as much as the triumphs and the light."
Pat Green, another Texas-based country artist, singles out Thank You by Dido.
"I know she's not country," he says, "but her song always gets me right in the heart."
The three Arlington-based members of the a cappella act Pentatonix, which hit big last year after winning NBC's The Sing-Off, can't agree on a favorite.
Says Kirstin Maldonado: "I really love Dido's Thank You. Just listening to it brings me back to when I was little and listened to it all the time. I think this could be a thank-you to anyone, not just a specific other, a thank-you for just being in someone's life and brightening their day, regardless of what happened that day.
"I try not to take anyone for granted. And even when I'm having a really awful day, I could still thank so many people for being a part of my life and making it special. That's what I think this song does."
Scott Hoying, meanwhile, cites Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).
"The song is so laid-back and has a rejoiceful, carefree party vibe to it," he says. "I've always really loved Motown music and the fun soulful simplicity of it. Also, I think the title is hilarious!"
As for Mitch Grassi, he's partial to Morissette's song.
"I've always been a die-hard fan because of her beautiful voice and lyrics, but I think this song, the way I interpret it, is really relevant to me," he says. "It's about being responsible for your actions, giving yourself a little credit where credit is due and not worrying about your mistakes in the past or present.
"I think it's a great message, because I am my own worst critic. It's a gentle reminder to relax into life a bit more."
Billy Ray Cyrus' idea of a great thank-you song is the James Taylor version of You've Got a Friend.
"I love the song so much that I re-cut it on my Home at Last album," he says. "Good friends are so hard to find, and I'm thankful for all of the friends I have in my life."
Kimberly Schlapman of the country quartet Little Big Town chose Martina McBride's In My Daughter's Eyes.
"I'm thankful every day that my daughter loves me unconditionally," Schlapman says. "This song brings everything into perspective for me and reminds me of that sweet love and what matters most in my life."
Clint Black and Charlie Daniels cited their own songs, both of which thank the same people.
"The song that comes to mind is Christmas With You, a song that Hayden Nicholas and I wrote for the troops," Black says. "There's no mention of the troops in the song, but it's about counting the blessings in the family and being together at least in spirit."
Daniels, meanwhile, singled out Let 'Em Win or Bring 'Em Home, by the Charlie Daniels Band. "Because the song shows the depth of gratitude we should have to our troops."
Singer-songwriter Janis Ian also picked a song from her own repertoire.
"If it's OK to pick one of my own songs, I'd pick My Tennessee Hills. It's my thank-you song to Tennessee," she says. "Nashville took me in when it seemed like no other place on earth wanted me.
"I was broke, ill and overwhelmed. The kindness people showed me, from colleagues in the music industry I'd never met to complete strangers who heard about my illness and left packages of food and well wishes on my doorstep, was extraordinary. I've lived there 24 years now and I call it home."
And as for Gibbons, the bearded guitar great from ZZ Top, he likes I Thank You just as much as Rhett Miller says he does, but he goes all the way back to the Sam & Dave version from the 1960s.
Gibbons tells a story of musical inspiration in language that only he fully understands:
"On a just-before-noon Thanksgiving Day excursion, a vivid recollection stands of driving south on Houston's Gulf Freeway, aiming toward the familiar exit weaving to Grandma's house, which makes, I'm sure you can relate, that splendid destination.
"The ramp down to the horseshoe turnaround loomed ahead in the gray overcast sky, yet with the radio cranking loudly, things felt right, tight and outta sight: that notoriously famous Stax track from Sam & Dave.
"So the question became, 'What's that thang makin' this groove so deep?' The answer: It's the complexity of the oddly appealing electric clavinet figure motivating the cut. The ZZ effect then became automatic.
"We had to grease up the pan and get it. Just killer diller!"
