It’s Great to be Together

I wanted to write some sort of holiday message of peace, reconciliation, and coming together, but nothing came to me immediately. Then it hit me: I already wrote something that’s perfect for Thanksgiving in this bizarre year of 2020. I composed this song during my folk-music days about 35 years ago, but it has everything that we have seen this year. There’s fighting, temper tantrums, division, and even social distancing in the form of being forced to eat at the “kids table” in the basement as a fully grown adult.

As a kid, my extended family used to gather for every major holiday and most minor ones. In addition to the usual religious and civil holidays, there were birthdays, 1^st communions, confirmations, graduations (from both high school and middle school), weddings, anniversaries, etc. I took a quarter-century of those family holidays and mashed them into this song. Not everyone has such raucous celebrations, but my family did. Who can forget the infamous Christmas Eve fistfight of 1981, when my dad and my sister’s husband went hooks over whether little-league baseball was superior to “learning it on the streets.” The whole family was involved before that one was over. Then, with swollen eyes and split lips, we hugged and sang Christmas carols. Ah, the memories. I remember my friend Bruce once saying, “They should make a TV show about your family.” After watching the Showtime series Shameless, Kathleen thinks they did.

Those innumerable family gatherings began to wear on me after a while. In fact, when I was 23, I moved to Texas, in part to avoid the constant familial demands. Then to Colorado. Then to L.A. Then to . . . well, you get the idea. Still, while typing the lyrics to this song, it occurred to me that I’d give anything to have just one more Thanksgiving with everyone gathered together.

Like everything else this year, Thanksgiving arrives under unusual circumstances. My family lost my Uncle Don and my cousin Dawn this year, and it might be a good time to take a moment and think about friends and family that you have lost. Celebrate in small groups, wear masks when not eating, and for God’s sake, don’t talk about politics.

Here are the lyrics to the song. Believe or not, the Chicago public radio show, Midnight Special, used to play this on Thanksgivings. The people mentioned by name are my siblings.

Great to be Together Again, by Jack Henderson, 1985

It’s great to be together at this time of year,

But who dropped the olive in my glass of beer?

If we ever stop fighting, we’ll be loaded with cheer,

‘Cause it’s great to be together again.

—

Robb’s friend is knocking, but he can’t come in,

‘Cause today we’re eating butter ‘stead of margarine,

And Danny has his elbow in Gary’s chin,

‘Cause it’s great to be together again.

—

Randy took a drumstick, but he only ate the skin,

So dad started shooting dirty looks at him.

We’ll eat until we’re sick and that makes Grandma grin,

‘Cause it’s great to be together again.

—

Mark spilt the wine, but it’s no great loss,

So pass the sweet potatoes and the cranberry sauce;

The Bears didn’t win, and so we’re all pissed off,

But it’s great to be together again.

—

We’ve got uncles in the kitchen, and cousins everywhere,

So Debbie, go and get the broken folding chair.

And dad’s still swearing ‘bout the “goddamned Bears,”

But it’s great to be together again.

—

Mom is a magician, and every year’s the same,

She’s got eight different courses on the Radar Range,

And it’s ready to eat at half-time of the game,

‘Cause it’s great to be together again.

—

Mom forgot asparagus when she was at the store,

So dad got mad and wouldn’t eat no more;

He threw his mashed potatoes on the kitchen floor,

Boy, it’s great to be together again.

—

Well, I’m down here with the kids although I’m twenty-five,

Eating in the basement with the spiders and flies;

I guess I’m stuck down here until somebody dies,

But it’s great to be together again.

—

Well it’s great to be together at this time of year,

But who dropped the olive in my glass of beer;

If we ever stop fighting we’ll be loaded with cheer,

‘Cause it’s great to be together again.