Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Friday, November 28, 2025

While there's certainly no shortage of Christmas songs on the radio this time of year, dedicated Thanksgiving tunes are pretty hard to come by. In fact, most people can only think of one song that's truly considered a Thanksgiving tradition ... and it's not really about the holiday at all.

More

Alternate links: Google News | Twitter

Inspired by a real-life event on Thanksgiving Day, 1965, Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" (the song's full name is actually "Alice's Restaurant Massacree") was released in 1967, and in the years since, it's become a custom for radio stations across the country to play the nearly 19-minute-long song in the middle of the day on Thanksgiving.

Comments

Admin's note: Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive conduct is not allowed.

"But the tune, which tells the hilarious, rambling tale of how a teenaged Guthrie (son of Woody Guthrie) was arrested for littering on Thanksgiving Day, making him ineligible for the Vietnam War draft, is more of an anti-war anthem than a celebration of turkey and stuffing.

So how did it become a holiday favorite?"

(only the article knows!)

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-28 11:38 AM | Reply

Every fucking year my sister in-law.

Enough is enough.

#2 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2025-11-28 11:58 AM | Reply | Funny: 1

How This Folk Classic Became America's Thanksgiving Song

#3 | Posted by censored at 2025-11-28 12:39 PM | Reply

2010 Interview with Alice Brock, of Alice's Restaurant
www.youtube.com

#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-11-28 01:12 PM | Reply

Your Censored Thanksgiving.

#5 | Posted by redlightrobot at 2025-11-28 01:16 PM | Reply

Your Censored Thanksgiving.
#5 | Posted by redlightrobot

Thank you! Unfortunately I could not view the link as it is blocked by my safety settings. To put it in terms you might understand better, it appears to be haram.

#6 | Posted by censored at 2025-11-28 01:58 PM | Reply | Funny: 2

A Thanksgiving thot:

Always appreciate what you have. Some eat blankets because they have no food pic.twitter.com/zQZHqp32SO"- Kevin Staton (@Kevinstaton56)

#7 | Posted by censored at 2025-11-28 02:04 PM | Reply

#7

Can't see that. My firewall blocks Xitter.

#8 | Posted by DarkVader at 2025-11-28 02:32 PM | Reply

#7
Can't see that. My firewall blocks Xitter.
#8 | Posted by DarkVader

Alright, try this one. Only 'cause I like the way you talk...

#9 | Posted by censored at 2025-11-28 02:39 PM | Reply

reddit.

If that doesn't work, just run a search for the text.

#10 | Posted by censored at 2025-11-28 02:40 PM | Reply

Alice's Restaurant: The only Thanksgiving song.

The only video we play is: www.youtube.com

#11 | Posted by MSgt at 2025-11-28 02:58 PM | Reply

It's "die motherf%&#er die"

#12 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-28 03:17 PM | Reply

for #6

#13 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-28 03:17 PM | Reply

KPIG-FM, south of Santa Cruz, CA, plays it 4x during turkey day, every year.

Once, 45-50 years ago, I got to see him do this version. He starts the guitar figure, crowd goes wild. He stops. "Whatcha all cheering for? You've never heard this."
www.youtube.com

#14 | Posted by morris at 2025-11-28 03:23 PM | Reply

On the flip side... The Motorcycle Song:

www.youtube.com

#15 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-28 03:37 PM | Reply

The following HTML tags are allowed in comments: a href, b, i, p, br, ul, ol, li and blockquote. Others will be stripped out. Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive conduct is not allowed.

Anyone can join this site and make comments. To post this comment, you must sign it with your Drudge Retort username. If you can't remember your username or password, use the lost password form to request it.
Username:
Password:

Home | Breaking News | Comments | User Blogs | Stats | Back Page | RSS Feed | RSS Spec | DMCA Compliance | Privacy

Drudge Retort