Just Be Thankful for What You’ve Got

Thanksgiving for many is the official kick-off to the winter holiday season. The holiday season for my family stretches from November until February; we celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s, and Mardi Gras (which ends the day before Ash Wednesday). But throughout the season, music has always been an integral part of holiday festivities for me. It has become our family tradition to have a soundtrack for each holiday. As my mother and I prepare the Thanksgiving meal for the family, we play songs from our Christmas playlists which include many holiday classics, but William DeVaughn’s “Be Thankful for What You Got” is always a reminder to pause and give thanks.

DeVaughn’s 1974 classic has only fifty-five words, but provides a message of hope and thanksgiving that have continued to ring true:

Gangsta whitewalls
TV antennas in the back
You may not have a car at all But remember brothers and sisters You can still stand tall Just be thankful for what you got Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin’ in the scene
With a gangsta lean

When I hear the lyrics to this song it immediately shifts my focus. It helps me not dwell on the things I don’t have, but reflect on all of the things I am thankful for. This year, I am especially thankful for my own good health—after having a second kidney transplant in 2024, I understand that “health is wealth”. I am thankful for family and friends, as there has been a spirit of loss for so many families this year. I am thankful for the City of Milwaukee, a city that I love deeply and one that is slowly, but surely evolving and moving in the right direction. I am also thankful to live in the United States; because even with all its flaws, political divisiveness, and glaring inequities, the freedoms we have here are like none other.

As a society, we can become so enveloped in our personal wants and desires that we don’t take the time to stop and give thanks for all of the things we already have. No matter who you are or how bad you make think it is; there is always someone who may be experiencing something worse. Hunger, pain, hopelessness, despair, and loneliness plague many during the holiday season, while we all experience these feelings, know that the tide will turn and trouble won’t last always. Whenever you find yourself in doubt, pause and remember to just be thankful for what you’ve got.