Arlo Guthrie’s song – “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” has its fiftieth anniversary this year. Some radio stations, especially in the Northeast United States and around Stockbridge, Massachusetts – the song’s epicenter –  still play it each Thanksgiving,

Spencer Kornhaber for “The Atlantic” explains the song’s role as a Thanksgiving anthem:

“In the small canon of Thanksgiving-related popular music, Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” stands out for a few reasons, one of which is that it’s only barely related to Thanksgiving. The other reasons include its 16-minute runtime, and that it’s politically minded art of the sort worth revisiting this particular holiday season.”

As the son of legendary folk singer Woodie Guthrie (This Land is Your Land), Arlo knew how to send a message.  Listen to it by clicking on the title – Alice’s Restaurant –   and sing along now – 

“You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant

You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant

Walk right in it’s around the back, just a half a mile from the railroad track

An’ you can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant”

Atlantic Article: Alice’s Restaurant, An Undying Thanksgiving Protest Song