IN 1939, PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO Roosevelt faced a dilemma. He was responsible for declaring the last Thursday of November to be a day of Thanksgiving—something American presidents had done since Abraham Lincoln began the tradition. But November of 1939 had five Thursdays, which would shorten the holiday shopping season. Retailers still struggling from the Great Depression encouraged him to move Thanksgiving earlier by a week. To the country’s shock, Roosevelt agreed. For the next three years, some states recognized the federal government’s new Thanksgiving date, while others defiantly stuck with the old one.
Roosevelt had rejected previous requests to change the date of Thanksgiving, fearing that he would foil local plans and disrupt football schedules. But according to The New York Times, due to the urging of “department stores, general stores, small stores, and almost every kind of store,” Roosevelt announced on April 14, 1939, that Thanksgiving would be on November 23 instead of the expected November 30.
Angry Americans sent Roosevelt thousands of letters and telegrams about the breach of tradition and their disrupted schedules. An anguished calendar maker from Salem, Ohio, wrote in a letter to the White House that the decision would cause “untold grief” in the industry, since 1939 calendars and many 1940 calendars had already been printed. Just as the White House had predicted, football schedules were scrambled, leading some coaches to vow to vote Republican.
Things quickly became partisan. Several states ignored the presidential proclamation due to tradition or convenience, and others ignored it to snub Roosevelt, a Democrat. This muddled schedules even more. A girl in a New York boarding school wrote Roosevelt on October 18 that her home state, Republican-governed Connecticut, was celebrating Thanksgiving on the later date, making it impossible to go home for the holiday.
In 1939, 22 states celebrated Thanksgiving on the new date, and 23 on the old. But Texas, Colorado, and Mississippi took the best approach: They celebrated Thanksgiving on both dates. Many Americans did the same. In New York City, which celebrated the earlier date, restaurants offered turkey dinners on the “old” Thanksgiving date, too.
Journalists and politicians invented names to mark the confusion. The mayor of Atlantic City called the new date “Franksgiving,” which stuck. Others used the moniker “Democratic Thanksgiving” or “New Deal Thanksgiving,” describing it as another example of the president inappropriately flexing his executive powers.
People were still confused a year later. In 1940, a restaurant sent a telegram to the White House: “CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR REELECTION. WHEN SHALL WE SERVE OUR THANKSGIVING TURKEY 21ST? OR 28TH?” Only 32 states ultimately celebrated on the new Thanksgiving date. After a survey of 200 stores depicted no real economic benefit, Roosevelt announced that 1942’s Thanksgiving would be held on the original, traditional date.
The president seemed to find his failed Franksgiving experiment funny. The New York Times reported that he seemed lighthearted at the press conference, which was supposed to be about wartime foreign policy. But Congress was less jolly. In October of 1941, the House passed a resolution to make Thanksgiving a public holiday, celebrated on the last Thursday of November regardless of presidential proclamation.
But the resolution was amended when it got to the Senate. Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday. That way, most Thanksgivings would happen on the last Thursday, without cutting the holiday season short in other years. Still, some states held onto the last-Thursday date for years, sustaining the sense of confusion. In the 1942 movie Holiday Inn, which starred Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, an animated scene shows a turkey hopping between two potential dates before giving up with a shrug.
And the two-Thanksgivings phenomenon didn’t end there. In 1944, which featured another five-Thursday November, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska, Texas, Virginia, and Tennessee all celebrated a week after the rest of the country. Texas was the last holdout, observing Thanksgiving on the last Thursday until 1956. Today, Americans all celebrate on the same date, without waiting for a presidential proclamation. In 2017, that’s probably a good thing, because President Trump might have kept the country in suspense.
Lynyrd Skynrd — Sweet Home Alabama
The Skynrd's 1974 riposte to Neil Young's Alabama is a tribute to Muscle Shoals (an Alabama city famous for its music), blue skies and the Swampers (session musicians), and a prime example of Southern Rock.
Lacy J Dalton — The Alaska Song
Dalton was the protegee of folk singer Karen Dalton, and this tune sees her heading up to Alaska to have some fun dancing under the midnight sun.
Kings of Leon — Arizona
From the album Because of the Times, this is a sterling driving song which, despite the title, somehow fails to mention Arizona.
Bruce Springsteen — Mary Queen of Arkansas
One of the treasures of Greetings From Asbury Park, this is a tale of white skin and acrobats.
The Beach Boys — California Girls
It is a scientific fact that the music of the Beach Boys sounds like California. This is a hit from 1965.
Townes van Zandt — Colorado Girl
The much-overlooked TVZ's pledge to go out to Denver to "See if I can't find/That lovin' Colorado girl of mine."
Aerosmith — I Live in Connecticut
One of America's premier rock bands, none of whom live in Connecticut.
Perry Como — Delaware
Como's "hilarious" play on state names sees him asking not only "What did Della wear, boy?" but providing the response "She wore a bran New Jersey."
Vic Chesnutt — Florida
From Chesnutt's 1991 album West of Rome, this "tribute" to Florida: "Florida, Florida, there's no more perfect place to retire from life."
Gladys Knight and the Pips — Midnight Train to Georgia
Heart-wrenching tale from 1973 of a man who finds LA too much and heads back home to Georgia, with his woman hot on his heels.
Elvis Presley — Blue Hawaii
Appears in the Elvis vehicle of the same name, and boasts the promise that "Dreams come true/In blue Hawaii."
Josh Ritter — Idaho
From Ritter's 2006 record The Animal Years, this tribute to his home state: "The only ghost I'm haunted by/Idaho, Idaho."
Sufjan Stevens — Casimir Pulaski Day
A few years ago, Stevens announced his intention to record an album for every state in America. This marvellous song is from his last, which covered Illinois.
Louis Armstrong — (Back Home Again in) Indiana
Originally composed in 1917, (Back Home Again in) Indiana went on to become a jazz standard. For many years, Armstrong opened every public appearance with this track.
Joni Mitchell — The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines
From Mingus, Mitchell's 1979 collaboration with Charles Mingus, a story of a dry cleaner from Iowa who, to the disgruntlement of our narrator, is enjoying a lucky run on the slot machines: "Des Moines was stacking the chips/ Raking off the tables/ Ringing the bandit's bells."
Glenn Campbell — Wichita Lineman
Campbell's rendition of composer Jimmy Webb's tale of a telephone lineman driving through Kansas and pining for a distant lover, contains one of the most affecting lyrics ever: "And I need you more than want you/ And I want you for all time."
John Hartford — Man of Constant Sorrow
Traditional song written by Dick Burnett, a blind fiddler from Kentucky and immortalised in the Coen brothers' movie O Brother Where Art Thou. It has been covered many times, including this version by Mr Hartford. It is the tale of a man beleagured by trouble who must "bid farewell to old Kentucky/ The place where I was born and raised."
Chuck Berry — Johnny B Goode Sometimes referred to as a musical version of the American Dream, Berry's 1958 hit tells the story of a poor boy from Louisiana who done good just by playing a guitar. Opens with one of the most rip-roaring guitar riffs ever.
Mountain Goats — Going to Maine
Going to Maine is part of the Mountain Goats' long-running "Going to…" series, and features an adulterous couple contemplating flight to the East Coast.
Bob Dylan — The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
Dylan's 1963 song covers the real life murder of a barmaid at a hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, for which the wealthy culprit received a mere six-month jail sentence.
Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers — Roadrunner
Richman frequently paid musical homage to his native New England, and there is no finer example than this tale of driving the roads around Boston at night.
Martha [Reeves] and the Vandellas — Dancing in the Street
One of the most famous songs in Motown's rich history, this was released in 1964 to became both a dancefloor filler and a civil rights anthem. The song is a roll-call of American cities, including Chicago, New Orleans and New York City, but urges us not to forget Detroit, "the Motor City".
The Hold Steady — Stuck Between Stations
Tales of drinking, dancing and making out in Minneapolis: "These twin city kisses/ Sound like clicks and hisses/ And we all come down and drown in the Mississippi River."
Robert Johnson — Cross Road Blues
Legend holds that Johnson sold his soul to the devil, in exchange for his masterful guitar-playing, at a crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He died aged 27 at another crossroads in Greenwood, Mississippi. His playing epitomises the Delta blues: down-home and rhythmic, with a characteristic slide guitar.
Low — Missouri
Minimalist band in fact hailing from Duluth, Minnesota. This track appears on their 1999 album, Secret Name, and repeatedly opines "Oh Missouri."
Bruce Springsteen — Nebraska
The Boss's unsettling tale of the killing spree of Charles Starkweather, inspired by Terrence Malick's film Badlands: "From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska, with a sawed-off .410 on my lap." It appears on Springsteen's 1982 album of the same name.
Phil Cody — Viva Las Vegas
This pared-down version of the Elvis classic, makes for something altogether more unsettling.
Sonic Youth — New Hampshire
"B.B. King just turns on The New Hampshire boys". Apparently.
Tom Waits — Jersey Girl
Waits is famous for his growl of a voice, and musical experimentation that encompasses vaudeville, blues and jazz. This song is about the sweet joy of being in love with a girl from New Jersey, and has been covered by Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi.
Johnny Cash — New Mexico
In which a cow puncher kindly invites Mr Cash to spend a pleasant summer in New Mexico, only to encounter a troublesome time with hail storms, thistles and Indians.
Lou Reed — Walk on the Wild Side
Reed's 1972 hit, with its Warholian cast, conjures up all that is weird and wonderful about New York City.
James Taylor — Carolina in My Mind
Taylor was raised in North Carolina, and this track is from his 1968 debut album recorded in the depths of heroin addiction. "Can't you see the sunshine," he wonders. "Can't you just feel the moonshine."
Lyle Lovett — North Dakota
Lovett's cowboy tale of guns and the boys of North Dakota who apparently "drink whisky for their fun".
Concerning a roadtrip through Ohio, declares "this place is flatter than it seems." From the aptly-titled album This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
Woody Guthrie — Oklahoma Hills
Legendary folk singer Guthrie's tribute to his home state, pining for the oak, the blackjack trees and the "playful Prairie breeze" of Oklahoma.
Loretta Lynn — Portland, Oregon
Sweet, drunkardly duet with Jack White, from Lynn's Van Lear Rose album, asking the question: "Well Portland Oregon and sloe gin fizz/ If that ain't love then tell me what is."
The Band — The Weight
Few songs sound more like late 1960's America than The Weight — The Band's story of a traveller to Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
Blossom Dearie — Rhode Island is Famous for You
Dearie's 1960 recording lists claims to fame of various states (Georgia — peaches; Idaho —potatoes) before concluding, rather charmingly, that "little ol' Rhode Island is famous for you."
Her Space Holiday — From South Carolina
Moving pledge to someone with dyed black hair, to always be there all the way from South Carolina to San Francisco. What more could you ask for, really?
Bee Gees — South Dakota Morning
According to the brothers Gibb, a South Dakota Morning consists of sunshine, rain and eagles.
Paul Simon — Graceland
From Mrs Robinson to American Tune, Paul Simon has a rarely-rivalled gift for cataloguing American life — this song relates the story of travelling to Memphis to see the home of Elvis.
Flamin Groovies — Headin for the Texas Border
Blues rock standard more recently covered by the Raconteurs.
Californian band's not altogether comprehensive history of the 45th state.
Magnetic Fields — Long Vermont Roads
Not altogether complimentary song which boasts the lyric: "Your eyes are long Vermont roads/ With a tacky song on the radio." Charming.
The Stanley Brothers — East Virginia Blues
Bluegrass tale of leaving Virginia to woo a fair maiden in North Carolina.
Nirvana — Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle
Perhaps the most famous act out of Seattle in its grunge heyday, Nirvana penned this song for the actress and Seattle native Frances Farmer, who in the 1940s was accused of being both a Communist and an atheist. It appears on their 1993 record In Utero.
The White Stripes — This Protector
Brief, glowering tune from the band's 2001 album White Blood Cells contains the lyric: "300 people living out in West Virginia/ Have no idea of all these thoughts that lie within you."
John Prine — Milwaukee Here I Come
In which the marvellous Mr Prine heads from Nashville to Milwaukee, pledging "I'm gonna leave this town 'til you decide/ Which one you want the most/ Me or Jerry Lee."
John Denver — Song of Wyoming
A story of a man so homesick for Wyoming he hears the coyote and the canyon cottonwood singing its song.
