Alice Brock, the inspiration for Arlo Guthrie’s classic 1967 song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” died Thursday in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, at age 83. Brock, whose Thanksgiving feast and restaurant were immortalized in Guthrie’s antiwar anthem, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, her friend Viki Merrick confirmed.
The song, a counterculture classic, and Thanksgiving tradition tells the tale of Guthrie’s visit to Alice Brock’s home in 1965. Over 18 minutes, Guthrie humorously recounts his run-in with the law after he and a friend, Rick Robbins, tossed trash in a ravine when the local dump was closed. Arrested for littering, they end up in court, where Guthrie is eventually fined $50. Ironically, this minor infraction later disqualifies him from military service during the Vietnam War, a key satirical point in the song.
While Alice Brock’s restaurant, The Back Room, is only briefly mentioned in the song, her hospitality and countercultural spirit define the piece. After her death, Guthrie said Brock’s warmth and generosity embodied ideals the song celebrated.
She was more than a song. A painter and chef, she was a familiar figure in the Massachusetts community and a symbol of the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” has become a permanent feature of Thanksgiving celebrations that includes a healthy dose of laughter, nostalgia, and critical analysis of the powers that be. And so fans will reflect as Brock dies. Her legacy, in these words, still lingers: “You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant.”
Dying ends an era, indeed, for a piece of American folklore that can’t help but remind audiences of what Thanksgiving is truly all about.
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