How Arlo Guthrie's 'Alice's Restaurant' Became A Thanksgiving Classic

KUNC ^ | 11282019 | Kunc

[Larry Lucido]

This story almost reads like the song.

[a little elbow grease]

I’m just sittin’ here on the ‘Group W’ bench .....

[BenLurkin]

Guthrie and Thanksgiving? Where?

[a little elbow grease]

It could be said that "Alice's Restaurant" is Thanksgiving's song for some folks .... and "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" could be the movie.

A very sweet movie at the end.

[Fzob]

And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W’s
where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean ‘n’ ugly
‘n’ nasty ‘n’ horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
and said, “Kid, whad’ya get?” I said, “I didn’t get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage.” He said, “What were you arrested for, kid?”
And I said, “Littering.” And they all moved away from me on the bench
there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I
said, “And creating a nuisance.” And they all came back, shook my hand,
and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,
father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the
bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of
things, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held it
up and said.

[Fzob]

Wife and I watch the movie every year. Classic.

[a little elbow grease]

[Chickensoup]

Had some friends who considered it a thanksgiving must listen.

I found it dull. Like listening to Second City TV albums or Monty Python.

[a little elbow grease]

"I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W’s where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean ‘n’ ugly ‘n’ nasty ‘n’ horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me and said, “Kid, whad’ya get?” I said, “I didn’t get nothing, I had to pay $50 and pick up the garbage.” He said, “What were you arrested for, kid?” And I said, “Littering.” And they all moved away from me on the bench there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I said, “And creating a nuisance.” And they all came back, shook my hand, and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing, father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the bench."

_______________

ROFL .... that was great.

[Larry Lucido]

Didn’t know this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlo_Guthrie#Politics

Guthrie identified as a registered Republican in 2008. He endorsed Texas Congressman Ron Paul for the 2008 Republican Party nomination, and said, “I love this guy. Dr. Paul is the only candidate I know of who would have signed the Constitution of the United States had he been there. I’m with him, because he seems to be the only candidate who actually believes it has as much relevance today as it did a couple of hundred years ago. I look forward to the day when we can work out the differences we have with the same revolutionary vision and enthusiasm that is our American legacy.”[32] He told The New York Times Magazine that he is a Republican because, “We had enough good Democrats. We needed a few more good Republicans. We needed a loyal opposition.”[33]

Commenting on the upcoming 2016 election, Guthrie identified himself as an independent, and said he was “equally suspicious of Democrats as I am of Republicans.” He declined to endorse a candidate, noting that he personally liked Bernie Sanders despite disagreeing with Sanders’ platform, and he praised Donald Trump for not relying on campaign donations, stating that he thought it “wonderful” that “he’s [Trump] not in anyone’s pocket,” but did not believe that this necessarily means that Trump has the best interests of the country in mind.[34]

In 2018, Guthrie contacted publication Urban Milwaukee to clarify his political stance. He stated “I am not a Republican,” and expressed deep disagreement with the Trump administration’s views and policies on immigration. Guthrie further clarified, “I left the party years ago and do not identify myself with either party these days. I strongly urge my fellow Americans to stop the current trend of guilt by association, and look beyond the party names and affiliations, and work for candidates whose policies are more closely aligned with their own, whatever they may be ... I don’t pretend to be right all the time, and sometimes I’ve gone so far as to change my mind from time to time.” [35]

[Responsibility2nd]

With the Father Rapers.

[a little elbow grease]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPJzNNpUFsU

Ending scene .... Trains Planes and Automobiles

(excellent)

[Rennes Templar]

P, T & A does have an uplifting message ending. Steve Martin’s toity white collar character looks down on John Candy’s all through the movie, until the end, when he realizes Candy has no home or family, and shares his.

[NohSpinZone]

He sounds a lot like many Freepers, truth be told.

[fproy2222]

I first saw Alice’s Restaurant just after having my service physical. That part really hit home.

Anybody have any extra?

[Russ]

Monty Python isn’t dull (wink wink nudge nudge).

[a fool in paradise]

No, it’s just racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic,...

< /s >

[a fool in paradise]

[HotHunt]

Not everybody has the same tastes but you’d be hard-pressed to find many folks who think that Monty Python is dull.