Alice’s Restaurant: The 18-Minute Anti-War Anthem That Became a Thanksgiving Tradition

Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” has become as much of a Thanksgiving staple as turkey, stuffing, and green bean casserole, but it is far from your typical holiday song. The 18-minute talking folk-blues number ­– which is officially named “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” – forgoes the familiar trope of families gathering around a table to tell the true story of a quirky series of events in 1965 involving a Thanksgiving dinner, a pile of trash, and a little-known rule that helped Guthrie avoid the Vietnam War draft.

In 1965, Arlo Guthrie, then 18, and his friend Rick Robbins, 19, visited friends Alice and Ray Brock, who lived in an old church they’d converted into a home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Alice was an artist and free spirit, and she’d invited Arlo and about a dozen others over for Thanksgiving. After the meal, Arlo and Rick decided to help Alice by cleaning up the bottles, boxes, and other trash and putting them in their Volkswagen bus. They had planned to drop it off at the city dump, but since it was closed for the holiday, they added the trash to a pre-existing heap they saw on the side of the road.

The next day, local police tracked them down and charged them with “illegally disposing of rubbish.” Four days later, they pleaded guilty, and each paid a $25 fine.

The absurd twist to the tale came when Guthrie was called up for the Vietnam War only to discover that he was disqualified from the draft because of his arrest record. This bureaucratic twist forged the basis of “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” where Guthrie spins the tale with humor, absurdity, and a bit of righteous anger.

The song’s breakthrough started with a live performance on New York City’s WBAI-FM, a listener-supported, freeform radio station known for its progressive and countercultural programming. WBAI received so many requests for the song that they used it as a pledge drive. And that worked.  

After its initial popularity, listeners began calling WBAI to request the song each year around Thanksgiving, when the story takes place. Other stations around the country, noting its popularity, soon followed WBAI’s lead, cementing it as a seasonal ritual.

The song’s length also plays a role in its Thanksgiving airplay. DJs enjoy the long runtime, allowing them to take a break and eat Thanksgiving dinner.

Still, something about the song’s tone and message makes it strangely perfect for Thanksgiving. It’s a reminder that even in absurd situations, we can find laughter and, sometimes, a bit of truth.