Song
Alice's Restaurant Massacree
by Arlo Guthrie
Alice's Restaurant Massacree is a 1967 song by Arlo Guthrie, 18:37 long. It fits the Thanksgiving song themes.
Released 1967 Length 18:37
Also known as Alice's Restaurant
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Arlo Guthrie's talking-blues story song and the side-long title track of his 1967 debut album, based on his real Thanksgiving 1965 littering arrest in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and the draft physical that followed. Many US radio stations play it every Thanksgiving, and it was added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
Performance tips
- Treat it as storytelling, not singing: a relaxed, deadpan conversational delivery carries the whole thing.
- It runs close to 20 minutes, so book it for a slow stretch or warn the room before you start.
- Let the crowd join the chorus at the end; that sing-along is the payoff.
In these themes
Karaoke versions
We haven't confirmed a karaoke version of this song yet. Search below or ask your host.
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