The Alice's Restaurant Massacree by Arlo Guthrie
Ranked #1,672 in Music, #48,371 overall
The misdemeanor that defined a generation
For me, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without listening to this classic performance piece by Arlo Guthrie, released in 1967.
The Alice's Restaurant Massacree relates a largely-true and very funny story of small-town drama, clashing cultures, and the struggles of the 1960s, all set to an memorable (but never tiresome) guitar line.
The Alice's Restaurant Massacree relates a largely-true and very funny story of small-town drama, clashing cultures, and the struggles of the 1960s, all set to an memorable (but never tiresome) guitar line.
Video: An illustrated version of the original song!
Andr3w Time made this video illustrating "Alice's Restaurant" with his own original drawings.
It's divided into two parts. Enjoy!
It's divided into two parts. Enjoy!
powered by Youtube
powered by Youtube
The lyrics!
Arlo Guthrie's web site has the complete lyrics to The Alice's Restaurant Massacree.
What I love about "The Alice's Restaurant Massacree"
- I love the story. The best thing about "The Alice's Restaurant Massacree" is that it really happened. A perfect storm of silly situations. And, just our luck, they happened to someone who was also a songwriter.
- I love Arlo Guthrie's delivery style. His speaking voice is quirky and unique and goes perfectly with the folksy storytelling style of his monologue.
- I love Arlo's performance. It could never be easy to tell an 18-minute story while playing guitar the entire time. He recorded "Alice's Restaurant" live in front of an audience and keeps them engaged all the way through. There are a couple of spots where he has to find his way a little bit, but it's still impressive work.
- I love the slice of American history. During the Vietnam War, I was too young to know anything about what was going on. This song gives me a glimpse into the feelings of the times, the sentiments about the war, the vulnerability of men facing the draft, and the establishment's distrust of long-haired young people who drove Volkswagen buses. "Alice's Restaurant" puts you right in the middle of all of it.
See Arlo perform "Alice's Restaurant" on YouTube
The video doesn't support embedding, so I can't post it here, but here's the YouTube link:
Arlo Guthrie performing "Alice's Restaurant" in 2005
It all started two Thanksgivings ago . . .
This is the church building where Alice and her husband, Ray, lived.
4 Van Deusenville Road
Great Barrington, MA
This building, formerly Trinity Church, was purchased by Alice and Ray as their home. It is the site of the "Thanksgiving dinners that couldn't be beat" and the center of Arlo's Massacree adventure.
Arlo Guthrie now owns the building himself. It is now the site of the Guthrie Center, an interfaith church founded in 1991.
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Really creepy news story! Just happened in March 2010.
A serial killer played an excerpt from "Alice's Restaurant" (the scene where Arlo is in the shrink's office!) to the jury during his trial.
Alice's Restaurant links
- ArloNet
- Arlo Guthrie's official website.
- Arlo Guthrie on MySpace Music
- Arlo's MySpace page.
- Arlo Guthrie, Remembering "Alice's Restaurant"
- National Public Radio's Debbie Elliott interviews Arlo about the song.
- Alice Brock
- Alice's website, featuring her artwork.
- A tribute to Officer Obie
- A bit of information about William J. Obanhein, the police officer who arrested Arlo for littering in 1965.
- Alice's Restaurant Massacree II: The trashing of a legend
- Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten talks with Arlo, clearing up a question he always had about "Alice's Restaurant". In the interview, Arlo reveals something that leaves Weingarten more confused than ever.
The site in Stockbridge, MA, where Alice once ran her restaurant is still a restaurant and is now called Theresa's Stockbridge Cafe.
November 2010: Man in Florida gets caught littering!
A man in Holmes County, Florida, dumped some trash in a park area. He was caught because his electric bill was a part of the trash and the police used it to track him down.
Source: Northwest Florida Daily News.
More '60s music!
Here are some other Squidoo pages that feature hippie and protest music.
The Alice's Restaurant marketplace!
Have a look around and see if you see something that would make a great gift, for yourself or for someone else.
An Arlo Guthrie Sampler
Lots of songs with him, besides just "Alice's Restaurant". All of the songs are available for download from Amazon.
Buy "Alice's Restaurant"
"The Alice's Restaurant Massacree" was featured on an album with the same title, and is also on Arlo Guthrie's "Greatest Hits" album.
iTunes listings for the Alice's Restaurant Massacree
The first item in this list is the original recording of the song. The other listings are the movie soundtrack version (not as good, in my opinion) and some later revisits of the song (which I haven't heard, so no opinion from me).
It was also made into a movie!
In 1969, the "Alice's Restaurant" movie was released. For the film, a fictional storyline was added to the true events from the song to create a story about '60s counterculture. Arlo Guthrie played himself in the movie, as did arresting officer William Obanhein and Judge James Hannon, who presided over the court case. Alice and Ray Brock acted as extras in the movie, but did not play themselves. Their characters were portrayed by Pat Quinn and James Broderick.
Here's the Wikipedia article on the "Alice's Restaurant" movie.
Here's the Wikipedia article on the "Alice's Restaurant" movie.
Other Alice's Restaurant memorabilia
Alice's Restaurant stuff on eBay
Alice -- Remember Alice?
Apparently, Alice Brock really was a great cook. Her cookbook and cooking philosophy get glowing reviews.
Tweets about "Alice's Restaurant"
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- UnicornCakes
- i really love Arlo Guthrie, but "Alice's Restaurant" is ruined by that one rape joke every time.
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- thelostadv
- Road King ride to our fave motorcycle joint in Northern California, Alice's Restaurant http://t.co/Xo2r0QWo @EagleRider @MotorcycleStuff
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- DelDryden
- @MReevesAtLarge Just played "Alice's Restaurant" for @duncancreeper for the first time :-) #culturalliteracy
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- ufuhyvabol
- Alice's Restaurant (DVD): Alice's Restaurant (DVD) http://t.co/nxrtStOc
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- CitylinkMusic
- Arlo Guthrie ~ Alice's Restaurant Massacree from the album Alice's Restaurant [1967]
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- qefexeqe
- Alice's Restaurant: The Massacree Revisited (30th Anniversary Edition) (Audio CD) http://t.co/9foWiWpm
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- kayedevin
- Video: 30 Days of Music - Day 29 - A song from your childhood Arlo Guthrie - Alice’s Restaurant We played... http://t.co/eiADVGeW
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- rchowning
- Alice's Restaurant - A Thanksgiving Tradition http://t.co/IhQvpMsQ
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- From_Apexhunter
- @TheBloggess If the "Alice's Restaurant" theorem is correct, you're only one famous-person-with-X photo away from creating a movement. #arlo
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- missbrutalbnr
- @REALBrotherBill which takes me back to Arlo Guthrie's Alice's restaurant.....
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I like to write about music
My life revolves around gospel choir music, but I occasionally write about other types of music as well. Here's the collection of my pop music lenses:
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SeekerOfThings
Jan 29, 2012 @ 10:15 pm | delete
- Just a great piece of American Music.
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TrevorLedford
Dec 19, 2011 @ 12:14 am | delete
- Love this song! Thanx for the lens. I mean. I meeeaaaaan... I love it ; )
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RecordLady
Dec 17, 2011 @ 8:51 am | delete
- Great read. My hubby has the lp in his record collection.
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CountrySunshine
Dec 11, 2011 @ 3:58 pm | delete
- Definitely a classic, and one I listen to every Thanksgiving! Great job with this lens!
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Lynnwho
Dec 9, 2011 @ 8:13 pm | delete
- What a wonderful job you did with this lens and a fabulous tribute to Arlo! You have no doubt been up to Great Barrington to the church and have participated in all the good that they do there at the Guthrie Center. Loving Arlo also..you can only imagine that the Alice's melody is running through my head all year round as it obviously is yours too! I'm in good company! Great Job Joan!
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_Joan_
Dec 9, 2011 @ 9:01 pm | delete
- I haven't ever been there, I just love the song and the message behind it. It would be a fabulous field trip.
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Tipi
Dec 2, 2011 @ 5:51 pm | delete
- A wonderful tribute to the Alice's Restaurant Masacre!
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JoshK47
Dec 2, 2011 @ 9:48 am | delete
- Definitely a classic - thanks for sharing this lens! :)
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MareeT
Dec 2, 2011 @ 1:24 am | delete
- Yes! I love this and our local radio station playes this EVERY Thanksgiving at noon. Just heard it last week! Classic in every way as well as your lens!
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Northwestphotos
Nov 28, 2011 @ 12:36 am | delete
- I was in high school when Alice's Restaurant album was released. What a gas! That's all that everybody talked. Those were the good ole days!
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_Joan_
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