Incontrovertible proof that Charlie Brown DID know about Snoopy's secretly prepared turkey.

I really should have posted this on Thanksgiving, but as already mentioned I took the day off. And then there was Cover Friday the next day. So I’m doing it today instead, because what the heck — “Little Birdie” is a groovy little ditty written and performed by Vince Guaraldi that is as almost as much fun to hear outside of the 1973 “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” TV special as it is inside of it. Guaraldi had an amazing talent for translating the moods of the Peanuts specials into music — his “Peanuts Christmas” soundtrack is truly one of the Best. Soundtracks. Ever. (I’ve always wanted to do one of those period emphasis things that you see so much these days on the Web — but now that I’ve done it, I think I won’t need to again. Because it’s Really. Pretty. Annoying.)

Anyway, I’ve always loved “Little Birdie,” but until recently it wasn’t on an album anywhere. But just today, checking to see whether I could find this for the widget above, I discovered that it had been released on a Peanuts 60th anniversary CD in 2010. So it’s on its way, even as we speak. The sequence that it accompanies on the program is one of my favorites as well, with the garage door, Woodstock getting run over by the basketball, the ping-pong table, and Snoopy’s run-in with the folding chair. It certainly helps make the song — in fact, I wonder how I would feel about it had I never seen the show. Anyone from outside the U.S. who hasn’t seen the special want to comment on the song? (Somehow it seems impossible that anyone living in the U.S. hasn’t seen the show, but obviously that can’t be true either, so if you’re one of those, I’d be interested to hear as well.)

If you want to relive the song within its original context from the show, here it is:

One more thing to mention: this “Thanksgiving” song is also a sort of introduction to my plan to feature some of my favorite Christmas songs over the next month. I’m a big fan of Christmas music — it always brings me back to fond memories of the season from my childhood, even when the onslaught of Christmas advertising threatens to drain all the fun out of it. So once or twice a week, I’m going to feature some of the best of the best. Hope you’ll enjoy the music, maybe even if you don’t celebrate the holiday.