I just found this wonderful NPR interview with Arlo Guthrie Remembering ‘Alice’s Restaurant’
Arlo Guthrie says “Alice’s Restaurant” is the story of a “little guy in a big world.” Forty years ago, Arlo Guthrie dumped a pile of trash. The minor crime made him ineligible for the draft. 2 years later in 1967, he immortalized the whole saga in “Alice’s Restaurant.”
I can remember the first time I heard this in early 1969 about the time I was getting involved in the Anti War Movement here in Melbourne and can honestly say that the last time I listened to it was a couple of weeks back. 40 years on it still has a relevance today. As he says “it’s more an anti stupid song than an antiwar song”.
It’s a good interview and only about 11 minutes long, well worth the investment.
If you have a little more time lying around there is a concert here (Real Audio Only working) or the song here. The Restaurant is all of Part 2 and the Lyrics can be found here, and remeber there are a lot of lyrics, about 22 minutes worth.