# Is Alice's Restaurant a tradition for your Thanksgiving? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 24, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983 "2011-11-24T17:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/121 "2013-11-24T01:57:12Z")
To my knowledge, I’ve never heard it before. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/122 "2013-11-24T02:07:34Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > To my knowledge, I’ve never heard it before. There, there, my son. The 60’s will rise again. Unfortunately. We’re just waiting for 'em to come around, again, on the guitar… ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/123 "2013-11-24T02:10:51Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > There, there, my son. The 60’s will rise again. Unfortunately. We’re just waiting for 'em to come around, again, on the guitar… What’s funny is I heard a ton of 50’s and 60’s music because of my parents, but I don’t remember that one ever coming up. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/124 "2013-11-24T02:12:54Z")
I’ve got the album(yes album) might have to get it out agive it aspin. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/125 "2013-11-24T02:18:37Z")
Arlo did do a revised 30 years later version. He explains the notorious gap in that Nixon White House tape in it. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/126 "2013-11-24T02:34:03Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > What’s funny is I heard a ton of 50’s and 60’s music because of my parents, but I don’t remember that one ever coming up. They were probably stoned and missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/127 "2013-11-24T02:52:27Z")
That was the first song I taught myself how to finger pick. I had the book with the TAB, a capo, a tortoise thumb pick, 2 national metal fingerpicks, and an Aria 12-string guitar. Frankly, it wasn’t the easiest 12-string to learn that song on because it had a narrow fretboard as 12-strings go. But since it was my only guitar at the time, I didn’t know any better. So I went ahead and learned it. Alice’s Restaurant got overlooked by a lot of folks in it’s time, because it was in the Folk music racks and didn’t get much airplay. More people were listening to Cream and The Jimi Hendix Experience. CS&N hadn’t formed yet when AR came out. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/128 "2013-11-24T03:55:09Z")
It’s made easy in these parts as our local “grey hair, ponytail” network (KFOG) will play it twice on Thursday, so you don’t have to search for it on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/129 "2013-11-24T06:28:51Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Let’s hope we get 50 posts this year. Or… Could you imagine 50 people a day walking in to this thread and posting about Alice’s Restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/130 "2013-11-24T14:52:04Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Or… Could you imagine 50 people a day walking in to this thread and posting about Alice’s Restaurant? It’s a movement. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/131 "2013-11-24T16:52:05Z")
I just introduced it to my husband. He thought it was eh, but I enjoyed hearing it again. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/132 "2013-11-24T16:54:05Z")
I was going to post a bar, but I’m still waiting for it to come around on the guitar … ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/133 "2013-11-24T17:13:16Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > It’s a movement. And that’s what it is. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/134 "2013-11-24T20:37:43Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Arlo did do a revised 30 years later version. He explains the notorious gap in that Nixon White House tape in it. That was from a live recording. I’ve seen him perform the song live a few times over the years and quite a few times he included the gap story in the song. He probably first did that in the late 70s though, not 30 years later. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/135 "2013-11-24T23:33:53Z")
The only Alice’s restaurant I ever heard of was Mel’s Diner. Kiss mah grits. ---
**Author:** ![Shark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Shark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/136 "2013-11-25T14:18:32Z")
Just printed off the Tab so I can play it on guitar. I have it on CD and MP3 and I’ll have to make sure to have it available for the drive to visit family. I’ll go take my seat on the group W bench now. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/137 "2013-11-25T21:39:10Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > I was going to post a bar, but I’m still waiting for it to come around on the guitar … I always try to anticipate when the come-around comes around, and fail every time. Year after year, listen after listen. I’m wondering if Arlo deliberately made it slightly off just to fool with people. Or I have no musical instinct. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/138 "2013-11-26T00:19:39Z")
Y’know, Arlo would need to do an edit to get up to date on the latest recruiting criteria if he did a current version (the line: “if two people do it, in harmony, they may think they’re both faggots and they won’t take either of them”) OTOH I can only smile at his foreshadowing of the obsession with forensic evidence technology. It’s more of a personal thing for me, got used to it while living stateside (oddly, saw the movie before ever listening to the whole track), heard him doing it live once (including the White House story). ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/139 "2013-11-26T05:08:50Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever heard the entire song. I had no idea it was related to Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983/140 "2013-11-26T20:47:23Z")
I remember hearing the song a lot on my dad’s eight-track player (yes, I’m that old) when I was a kid, but despite the Thanksgiving story embedded in the song, it was never a part of our holiday celebrations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alices-restaurant-a-tradition-for-your-thanksgiving/603983.md?page=8)