Alice's Restaurant
Posted by FireflyRodric@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 103 comments
Did anyone else grow up hearing this song every Thanksgiving? Currently listening to it at my parent's house... on the radio.
EdwardDorito@reddit
Definitely remember listening to it on the radio in the car on the way to or from Grandma's for the Thanksgravying
quite-indubitably@reddit
I’m not sure how I am just now learning about this
jadethebard@reddit
My kid and I listen to it every year. I'm lucky and got to see Arlo perform it live when I was 11. It was almost twice as long live. lol Best concert ever.
rabidturbofox@reddit
We listened to it every year! My best friend in high school had the BOOK and I was so jealous of it.
Neither-Mycologist77@reddit
There's a BOOK?!
rabidturbofox@reddit
YES, and it is SPECTACULAR.
TakingYourHand@reddit
I remember it like it was yesterday, listening right there on the Group W bench!
Ham_Ah0y@reddit
With the father rapers?
Good God man, what did you do? Litter?
TakingYourHand@reddit
Yeah, father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me!
Don't worry, I have rehabilitated, myself.
Ham_Ah0y@reddit
Kid. . . .
kl1n60n3mp0r3r@reddit
You mean the legendary Alice's Restaurant Thanksgiving massacree with 5 part harmony and feeling?
We listened to it every year, right before we had a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat. ;)
fermentedradical@reddit
Not only do I listen to it each year, but I live 45 minutes from Stockbridge and I've been to the church Alice lived in and wher Arlo had a few meals that couldn't be beat! It's called The Guthrie Center and if you ever get a chance you should go. Plus they do a free community meal on Thanksgiving for everyone but especially the less fortunate.
And if you get a chance to see Arlo on one of his tours, you should. It was amazing to see him play it live.
Which-Investment9597@reddit
nothing like that song to get everyone reminiscing about the chaos before the feast
GrumbleAlong@reddit
A great Thanksgiving tradition !
defective_toaster@reddit
Can't forget the 27 8×10 glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a description on the back of each one telling what it is.
kl1n60n3mp0r3r@reddit
“It was a typical case of blind justice…”
Pineapple-Due@reddit
And if two of you sing it, in harmony...
postitpad@reddit
Well they won’t take either of you.
nudave@reddit
All you’ve got to do to join is to sing it the next time it comes around on the git-tar.
ahawk99@reddit
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s restaurant.
Careful-Use-4913@reddit
Walk right in it’s around the back
kl1n60n3mp0r3r@reddit
Just a half mile from the railroad track!
Morriganx3@reddit
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s restaurant
hoopstick@reddit
Exceptin’ Alice
dudly825@reddit
Arlo was my first concert (with my parents). People literally called for Alice’s Restaurant the entire concert. He refused to play it. People were visibly upset.
GrizzlyAdam12@reddit
I’ve never heard of this song before. Just looked it up….18 minutes?!?
YourStarsAlgonquin@reddit
Now that you've listened 6 times through, thoughts?
GrizzlyAdam12@reddit
I lasted 2 minutes. Then I scrolled forward to the 12 minute mark…and it sounded exactly the same.
I’m out!
LardLad00@reddit
Kids these days and their short attention spans
sobeitharry@reddit
You're in for a treat.
JacPhlash@reddit
KILL!!!!
IndomitableAnyBeth@reddit
And we's both jumping up and down yelling, "Kill! Kill!"
Sergeant comes over, slaps on the back, pins a medal to my chest, says, "You're our boy!"
I didn't feel good about it or anything...
Oldlucky303@reddit
Tradition in my house whether they like it or not!
Pitiful_Ad2397@reddit
I definitely did
Worldly_Elevator4655@reddit
Woah - just now texted family saying I missed the noon play on XRT - BUTTTTTT - to find a link p, I went to Reddit , bam got it, sent it, then found your words! Hello, person.
Lexis_Rose@reddit
My mother of all people would play this religiously (not just on Thanksgiving either) and I could never understand why especially when I was at a young age growing up when this would be blasting through the house.
smittymoose@reddit
I watched the movie while I cooked today.
RaisinToastie@reddit
We listened to it every year in Ohio
squarebodynewb@reddit
What the fuck are yall talking about?
Do_it_My_Way-79@reddit
I listen to it Amy time of year. It’s so funnny.
mattinglys-moustache@reddit
If you live in the New York area, Q104, the classic rock station plays it every thanksgiving day at noon. I did not know this was a thing anywhere else.
blue_suavitel@reddit
God I hate it and can’t wait for it to end
edwardturnerlives@reddit
Nope. My parents did not listen to music ever.
Puzzled_Loquat@reddit
We listened to it today. Every year. As a kid it was on a record.
WoofinLoofahs@reddit
I had absolutely no awareness of this song until 2 years ago. This whole time families across these United States hung their holiday on this song and in my house we had no idea.
Jewishjay@reddit
Used to listen to it every year with my dad. Now I listen to it every year with my daughter.
taxilicious@reddit
Yep! Always on the drive to the other side of the state. My dad even brought a Walkman and the tape on our thanksgiving week cruise in 1994!
MountainTomato9292@reddit
I had the pleasure of seeing it performed live by Arlo Guthrie himself, in Eureka Springs, AR. Absolutely amazing show.
Ssladybug@reddit
AND THEY TOOK TWENTY SEVEN EIGHT-BY-TEN COLOR GLOSSY PHOTOGRAPHS WITH CIRCLES AND ARROWS AND A PARAGRAPH ON THE BACK OF EACH ONE EXPLAINING WHAT EACH ONE WAS TO BE USED AS EVIDENCE AGAINST US. TOOK PICTURES OF THE APPROACH, THE GETAWAY, THE NORTHWEST CORNER THE SOUTHWEST CORNER AND THAT'S NOT TO MENTION THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY.
kgruesch@reddit
I pull this one out about 3 times a year at work and not a damn soul there knows what I'm talking about. I am disappoint.
Ssladybug@reddit
So many people have missed out
Pineapple-Due@reddit
And then he looked at the seein' eye dog
old_mcfartigan@reddit
Don’t want any hangin’s
Iamstu@reddit
I worked with a guy that was on the vw micro bus and was good friends with Arlo. Man that guy had some stories.
ebzees@reddit
My dad was just talking about listening to it this morning. 😊 And yes, I listened over the years
LordLaz1985@reddit
I discovered it as an adult. My dad fought in Vietnam, so he probably didn’t think it was very funny.
thebrandedsoul@reddit
I re-join the Movement every year. It's easy!
All you got to do to join is sing... with feeling.
(My wife and sister do not understand how important this song is, and it makes me sad.)
shempaholic@reddit
I'd usually hear it played on the radio on our way to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Man, I miss those days so much.
PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit
Same here. Some of my best childhood memories involve Thanksgiving at my grandparents' house.
Morriganx3@reddit
One of our local radio stations did a charity fundraiser every thanksgiving where you could request any song you wanted if you donated. It was a classic rock station, but tor this, they’d post literally anything.
Most songs were cheap, but a few were super expensive, so they’d wait til the donations for that song reached $50 or whatever. Alice’s Restaurant was always one of the expensive ones, partly because it was long, but also because use it was so in demand. They’d usually end up playing it a few times every thanksgiving.
PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit
My siblings and I used to tease our dad for liking that long, boring song but secretly we liked it. Dad passed away in 2023 and I always will associate the song with him.
PrincessSarahHippo@reddit
I didn't stumble upon it until I was maybe 30. But 🤣😂. I have to listen to it now, thanks.
holymole1234@reddit
Arlo Guthrie used to do an annual Thanksgiving concert at Carnegie Hall. Finally my family and I went in 2014 or so - a really great experience.
EffectiveCycle@reddit
The classic rock station would always play it exactly at noon, which always coincided with the time we’d leave to go to my aunt’s house. And my dad had to listen to it every year. I brought it up yesterday but I think he’s too technologically inept to just look for it.
VenomousVenting@reddit
We don’t traditionally listen to it, but I think I will put it on for everyone’s enjoyment.
OldJames47@reddit
Any chance you live in Western Massachusetts or the Albany area? The NPR affiliate there plays it non-stop on Thanksgiving.
acctgamedev@reddit
Every year when I lived in Wisconsin
FireflyRodric@reddit (OP)
my family is also from Wisconsin! Maybe it's a regional thing.
fatwiggywiggles@reddit
The tradition started on a radio station in New York City. As people left the city they would then request the song at their own local stations, which is how it spread more nationally. Totally grassroots.
DazzlingBullfrog9@reddit
When I lived in New Orleans, it was broadcast every year at noon on the classic rock station.
fizzleguy@reddit
Love this song. I actually bought my dad a cameo from Arlo Guthrie a year or so ago for his birthday.
MaracujaBarracuda@reddit
I saw Arlo perform a small concert in a local park a couple decades ago! He was a great story teller in between songs!
Hillraiser@reddit
I grew up listening to Arlo Guthrie because of my dad and had the pleasure of seeing Arlo live a couple of times. If you think that song is wild, listen to The Story Of Reuben Clamzo and his Strange Daughter in the Key of A.
mightysockelf@reddit
We have a classic rock station here in town that plays it uncensored on Thanksgiving, but only twice.
onions-make-me-cry@reddit
Not only did I grow up with it, but I drove by actual Alice's Restaurant all the time growing up in Woodside, CA.
DazzlingBullfrog9@reddit
I thought it was in Connecticut.
onions-make-me-cry@reddit
I was always told it was based on the Woodside restaurant, I grew up learning that. But looks like it was a Massachusetts restaurant?
No_Raisin_250@reddit
I’ve never heard this in my life 😅
But I’m Puerto Rican so we jammed to:
La Fiesta de Pilito
I just listened to it, damn that’s long but funny.
Senior-Pomegranate50@reddit
I grew up watching Alice...
yeltrah79@reddit
When I joined the military a friend and I used to joke that I wanted to see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth
Glittering_Tea5502@reddit
I’ve never heard it on the radio, but I’ve heard a friend sing it.
whiskeytown79@reddit
I lived near an Alice's Restaurant (https://alicesrestaurant.com/) growing up, and always assumed this song was referring to it.
Earlasaurus02@reddit
Stockbridge Massachusetts, restaurant isn't there anymore but the church is. My father was in the movie, part of the crowd at the motorcycle race. Everyone got paid $5 and a hot dog to watch the race
boilerdawg31@reddit
You can get anything you want
DazzlingBullfrog9@reddit
Listening right now.
djspacebunny@reddit
It just isn't the same without Pierre Robert playing it on WMMR :( RIP PIERRE.
passamongimpure@reddit
BoysenberryKind5599@reddit
We had never heard of a dump that was closed on Thanksgiving before
Helo7606@reddit
Was listening to it earlier. Lol
Elainya@reddit
My kids will roll their eyes and leave to their room if I play it this year. So I will.
Careful-Use-4913@reddit
I discovered it in adulthood several years back. We and our kids have been enjoying it every year since. My parents were not anti-war, or anti-war sympathetic. My dad (even though he did a stint as a substance abuse counselor) still thinks weed is a “gateway drug”, despite hard evidence to the contrary. Probably why I never heard it.
But also interesting because I had Arlo Guthrie albums growing up, and my parents were both into folk. 🤷♀️ They’re a weird mix of Republican/Hippie.
Legitimate_Item_6763@reddit
Me parents have it on 33 1/3! Love listening to it.
Ssladybug@reddit
I do too
johntwilker@reddit
Nope. First I’d ever heard of it was when NPR does a story.
ahawk99@reddit
Yes, because of my Dad. 🙃 An every year tradition
mikemar05@reddit
Yup put it on for our drive to dinner with my parents
goosedog79@reddit
I listened to it growing up on the car rides to relatives, my wife never heard of it, but now that we host, I have my family listen as we eat cinnamon buns for breakfast.
mrsg1012@reddit
It’s tradition for us to put it on and listen while we make our plates!
Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit
No but my dad would sing and play it over and over again on his acoustic.
ltmikestone@reddit
Rocking it literally right now. Plug for the next song on that album… Chilling of the Evening. Peak 60s vibes.
Octowuss1@reddit
My dad still listens to the album every year
Skipper0463@reddit
I just listened to it a little while ago.
amindfulloffire@reddit
I didn't but I remember stumbling across it in my early 20s and wondering, "What is this?"