Arlo Guthrie Quotes

United States, Singer-Songwriter
July 10, 1947

Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, he is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling around a song. Guthrie's best-known work is his debut piece, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree”, a satirical talking blues song about 18 minutes in length that has since become a Thanksgiving anthem. His only top-40 hit was a cover of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans". His song "Massachusetts" was named the official folk song of the state in which he has lived most of his adult life. Guthrie has also made several acting appearances. He is the father of four children, who have also had careers as musicians.

...And it was about four or five hours later that Alice - Remember Alice? It's a song about Alice.

Arlo Guthrie
- Remember
- Song
I went over to the Sargent, said, 'Sargent, you got a lot a damn gall to ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm sitting here on the bench, I mean I'm sitting here on the Group W bench 'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women, kids, houses and villages after being a litterbug.'

Arlo Guthrie
- Women
- Kids
- Moral

And they took twenty seven eight-by-ten color 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.

Arlo Guthrie
- Color
- Photography
It's about the time I was riding my Motorcycle, going down a mountain road at 150 miles an hour, playing my guitar.

Arlo Guthrie
- Time
- Road
- Mountain
They got a building down New York City, it's called Whitehall Street, where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning.

Arlo Guthrie
- Good
- Night
- City
I froze in time! And I thought 'My God......I'm free!'

Arlo Guthrie
- Time
- God
- Free
Be serious. Folk songs are serious. That's what Pete Seeger told me. 'Arlo, I only wanna tell you one thing. Folk songs are serious.' And I said 'Right.'

Arlo Guthrie
- Serious
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 ours down.

Arlo Guthrie
- Up
- Road

For one minute, think of the last guy. Nobody's got it worse than that guy. Nobody in the whole world. He's so alone in the world, that he doesn't even have a street to lay in for a truck to run him over.

Arlo Guthrie
- World
- Guy
- Alone
We went back, afterward, after the show was over that night, I took my kids backstage and said, 'You know what? I know my dad's songs...'

Arlo Guthrie
- Kids
- Night
- Dad
You can get anything you want at Alice's RestaurantYou can get anything you want at Alice's RestaurantWalk right in, it's around the backJust a half a mile from the railroad trackYou can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

Arlo Guthrie
Group W's where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father rapers!

Arlo Guthrie
- People
- May
- Mother
This song is called 'Alice's Restaurant'. It's about Alice. And the Restaurant. But Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant, that's just the name of the song. That's why I called this song 'Alice's Restaurant.'

Arlo Guthrie
- Why
- Song