I did summerstock in Stockbridge for many years. We used to take people on the "Alice's Restaurant" tour all the time.

Most of the locations were still there in the early 90's.

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on
Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the
restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the
church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and
Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of
room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room,
seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't
have to take out their garbage for a long time.

We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it'd be
a friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. So
we took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red VW
microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed
on toward the city dump.

Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the
dump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dump
closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off
into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.

We didn't find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the
side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the
cliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pile
is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we
decided to throw our's down.

That's what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving
dinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep and didn't get up until the
next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, "Kid,
we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of
garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." And
I said, "Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope
under that garbage."

After speaking to Obie for about fourty-five minutes on the telephone we
finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down
and pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at the
police officer's station. So we got in the red VW microbus with the
shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the
police officer's station.

Now friends, there was only one or two things that Obie coulda done at
the police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal for
being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn't very likely, and
we didn't expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us out
and told us never to be see driving garbage around the vicinity again,
which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer's station
there was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon, and we was
both immediately arrested. Handcuffed. And I said "Obie, I don't think I
can pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on." He said, "Shut up, kid.
Get in the back of the patrol car."

And that's what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the
quote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town of
Stockbridge, Massachusets, where this happened here, they got three stop
signs, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to the
Scene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars,
being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted to
get in the newspaper story about it. And they was using up all kinds of
cop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer's station.
They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and
they took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
one was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach,
the getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that's not to
mention the aerial photography.

After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to put
us in the cell. Said, "Kid, I'm going to put you in the cell, I want your
wallet and your belt." And I said, "Obie, I can understand you wanting my
wallet so I don't have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you
want my belt for?" And he said, "Kid, we don't want any hangings." I
said, "Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?"
Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out the
toilet seat so I couldn't hit myself over the head and drown, and he took
out the toilet paper so I couldn't bend the bars roll out the - roll the
toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. Obie
was making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Alice
(remember Alice? It's a song about Alice), Alice came by and with a few
nasty words to Obie on the side, bailed us out of jail, and we went back
to the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat,
and didn't get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.

We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back
of each one, sat down. Man came in said, "All rise." We all stood up,
and Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he
sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at the
twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows
and a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog.
And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry,
'cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of American
blind justice, and there wasn't nothing he could do about it, and the
judge wasn't going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each
one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. And
we was fined $50 and had to pick up the garbage in the snow, but thats not
what I came to tell you about.

Came to talk about the draft.

38 cents a gallon. JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEBBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUUUS!

I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope under the half-ton of garbage

What the fark is this shiat and why should I care?

and a gentleman

I just wanna ride my motorcy...

/cle
//gotta love Arlo
///great album

"I don't want a pickle

Just want to ride on my motor-sickle"

/you got to be old to get that

//or this thread

///old as dirt.

i hate jimmy page: What the fark is this shiat and why should I care?

you gotta be old

/like a real old hippy

//or a guy like me who hated hippies

or akid Impudent Domain: i hate jimmy page: What the fark is this shiat and why should I care?

you gotta be old

/like a real old hippy

//or a guy like me who hated hippies

Or a kid like me who was raised by former hippies...

i hate jimmy page
There is Truth in that.
On so many levels.
It was valid then, it is valid today.
That is why you should care.
Enlightenment is a road one must choose to walk on.

--The Dead guy

ImOscar:

Thee is a special place in hell for Farkers that post lengthy song lyrics.

i hate jimmy page: What the fark is this shiat and why should I care?

Well you see there is this thing called "the past".

And in it, all kinds of cool things happened.

This was one of them.

I always feel kind of sorry for Arlo regarding this song.

Whenever he's at a Folk Festival or some such, he's usually got about half an hour on the main stage.

This being his 'big hit' and all, he's pretty much expected to do Alice's Restaurant.

Even if he had new material, it doesn't leave much time to flex the creative juices (so to speak).

That said, I never thought that Officer Obie was actually called Officer Obie.

OK any Farkers under 30 years old, how many of you had never even HEARD of this whole Alice's Restaurant thing before reading it here on Fark?

/my lawn, you may get off it at your earliest convenience

T.M.S.
ImOscar:

Thee is a special place in hell for Farkers that post lengthy song lyrics.

i hate jimmy page: What the fark is this shiat and why should I care?

Well you see there is this thing called "the past".

And in it, all kinds of cool thingscliched, overplayed garbage that people only like because of rose-tinted glasses happened.

This was one of them.

FTFY

RIP, Obie. Thanks for being the reason for a great song.

OK any Farkers under 30 years old, how many of you had never even HEARD of this whole Alice's Restaurant thing before reading it here on Fark?

I am 25 and I have heard it.

"Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me!"

T.M.S. Thee is a special place in hell for Farkers that post lengthy song lyrics.

Hopefully it's near a Virgin Records Store.

sezzme

OK any Farkers under 30 years old, how many of you had never even HEARD of this whole Alice's Restaurant thing before reading it here on Fark?

/my lawn, you may get off it at your earliest convenience

I watched it on the television when I was 11 and fell in love with it. I thought it was the funniest thing. I have a major love for the movie and song.

/you're our boy

T.M.S.: ImOscar:

Thee is a special place in hell for Farkers that post lengthy song lyrics.

Not just farkers. It is one of the most annoying internet memes ever, going back to usenet, if not arpanet. Though posting the lyrics to Alice's Resaurant is almost an ironic mocking of the genre.

Just being groovy to one an other is a fine tribute.

Saw the movie about a thousand times. I was an usher at the theater. Ran about 9 months.

/"Where's the spike, Shell?. Give me the spike."

came here for the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was.

I'll be leaving now

sezzme: OK any Farkers under 30 years old, how many of you had never even HEARD of this whole Alice's Restaurant thing before reading it here on Fark?

25 here. It's broadcast on the radio at high noon every Thanksgiving (naturally), so it was a family tradition to listen to it on the way to grandma's house to have another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat.

I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that ImOscar actually only posted half of the song's lyrics...

This was one of the first songs I learned on guitar. Damned difficult to keep that syncopation even and speak the rhythm-less lyrics at the same time.

sezzme: OK any Farkers under 30 years old, how many of you had never even HEARD of this whole Alice's Restaurant thing before reading it here on Fark?

/my lawn, you may get off it at your earliest convenience

I'm 33, and I have neither heard the song nor seen the movie, although I am vaguely aware of both.

i'm 34 and hubby is 29.

he had never heard the song nor seen the movie until this past year when i made him.

he didn't like it.

silly boy.

dooder0001: T.M.S.
ImOscar:

Thee is a special place in hell for Farkers that post lengthy song lyrics.

i hate jimmy page: What the fark is this shiat and why should I care?

Well you see there is this thing called "the past".

And in it, all kinds of cool thingscliched, overplayed garbage that people only like because of rose-tinted glasses happened.

This was one of them.

FTFY

Do you really find it that hard to avoid listening to this song?

Is it so present in your world that you find it un-avoidable?

As far as I can see it plays on Public radio once every Thanksgiving.

Some people find it fun to hear every decade or so.

Apparently you know better.

"I wanna KILL! KILL! KILL!"

"Kid, we only got one question: have you ever been....arrested?"

It was midnight on the sea, the band was playing "Nearer My God To Thee". Fare thee well Titanic, fare thee well.

he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, I want
you to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W .... NOW kid!!

Just to prove how much better I am than all of you, let me say that I own the album. Feel free to bask in my glory.

sezzme: OK any Farkers under 30 years old, how many of you had never even HEARD of this whole Alice's Restaurant thing before reading it here on Fark?

The rock station in Dallas plays it every Thanksgiving at noon. It's tradition.

/But I'm way over 30.
//Love the song, not so impressed with the movie.

I remember hearing a year or two ago that Arlo was in trouble over a storage shed and a building permit. Does anyone know what happened with that?

The movie is pretty awful.

Funny thing is the church poor Alice lived in would sell for millions now. It's right there in town and on a great deal of land.


Anyone who visits should also stop off at the "Sedgewick Pie".

It's a circular graveyard that the matriarch of the clan had her self buried in the middle of. All the graves face in towards hers.

The idea was that she would be the first thing they saw on the moment of The Rapture.

That old biddy had huge balls (so to speak).

Impudent Domain: "I don't want a pickle

Just want to ride on my motor-sickle"

/you got to be old to get that

//or this thread

///old as dirt.

Pretty much, but I don't wanna die.

I'd rather ride on my motorcy....cle.

haysoos: I always feel kind of sorry for Arlo regarding this song.

Whenever he's at a Folk Festival or some such, he's usually got about half an hour on the main stage.

This being his 'big hit' and all, he's pretty much expected to do Alice's Restaurant.

Even if he had new material, it doesn't leave much time to flex the creative juices (so to speak).

He plays the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival many/most years, and never does "Alice's Restaurant". In fact, I've only ever seen him do it at his full-length shows, and not even all of those.

/34
//not a "hippie", whatever that means anymore
///weeps for people who don't know Woody and Arlo

I live in the DFW area. I tune in every Thanksgiving to hear Alices Restaurant. Which I always enjoy. I have copies of the album and the movie, which is OK. But the song is the best picture of how one thing can lead to another. And usually blindside your sorry butt.

Not an old Hippie, but old. Alice's Restaurant is a Christmas family tradition at our gatherings. Have always loved that song and Arlo Guthrie!

Linda Ellerbee: (FTA)


Had the best news show and was canceled for some reason, she made the best snarkiest comments to her dimwitted co anchor.



She was smart, funny and HOT.

The "real life" in the headline is redundant, since there is no other Officer Obie that I'm aware of. I believe he's the only person besides Arlo who played himself in the movie.

25 years old and it's one of my all time favourite songs.

I also know:
"I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motor-sickle"

just after Alice's Resturant came out there were a lot of comedy albums, the best were Cheech and Chong. I still crack up when I see an old C & C movie.

Just shows how far we have not come. Can you imagine a comedy act today making mainstream movies celebrating the drug lifestyle?
It just would not fly. Now if they shot guys and pimped ho's then they might get away with it.

FAILmitter:You can have anything you want at Alice's Restaurant - including this tribute to the real life Officer Obie, who turns out to be a Norman Rockwell model and a fairly cool guy for a cop with a garbage fetish. (w/pics) twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one.)

Impudent Domain: Can you imagine a comedy act today making mainstream movies celebrating the drug lifestyle?

hhhmmm, maybe your right. the first movie wasn't all about drugs though, it was about the munchies.

For those that enjoy the song Alice's Restaurant I recommend checking out Alice's Restaurant: The Massacree Revisited if you haven't yet.

Impudent Domain: hhhmmm, maybe your right. the first movie wasn't all about drugs though, it was about the munchies.

....

....warmer....

I can't imagine there is any truth to the bit about a littering charge keeping Arlo from being eligible for military service.

Back in the day when I DJ'd at my college radio station, Alice's Restraunt or Inngoddadavida (sp?) were the songs you played when you had to take an "extended" BRB.

To this day, when I hear one of those songs I call the DJ up on the request line and ask him how their dump went.

/feeling old
/and I sat down next the meanest looking father raper of them all...