Then it got to be one kid. Two kids, you're never...
- It ain't worth it. - They have to pay you too much.
I could handle the army better than I could two kids.
You think you can handle the army better.
(man #3) The army is the greatest thing in the world...
- I'm a chicken. - So am I. I'm a coward.
A devout coward. I got a degree in cowardice.
I wouldn't kill anybody, I don't wanna be killed.
I don't wanna go away. I dig what I'm doing right now.
That's right, man. My heart keeps murmuring "Don't go, don't go."
(man #4) Sittin' on the bench, waitin' on the draft board to get us registered.
I saw a thing, some drawings and stuff, in some magazine.
A Vietcong booby trap, or whatever they call it.
Just rappin' on each other.
You walk over it, and you fall into these stakes...
He was stoned out of his skull. He used to drink 11 quarts of beer.
Then he'd drink bourbon at night.
And I heard all kinds of stories.
...half an inch of steel.
You go on these things, they go right through your foot like a shish kebab.
That ain't what I'm worried about, it going through.
The Germans used to have a grenade called "the castrator",
and when you stepped on it, it went right up, you know?
It's true. I've heard stories.
- -
- (clerk) Johnson, Harold J.
Didn't fill in "Reasons you may not qualify for military service."
- I don't have any reasons. - OK.
Next... Theotocopoulos, George.
Didn't answer "Physical characteristics that may aid in identification."
- (clerk) What's that? - Oh, yeah.
(clerk, writing) American flag, left forearm.
OK.
Next, Guthrie, Arlo.
OK.
For "date of birth", you put down "Scorpio".
- I want the specific date. - OK.
What's this "Huntington's chorea"?
Incurable nerve disease.
- And you have it. - Runs in the family.
My father has it, and my grandmother had it.
It says "Do you know any reason why you may not qualify for military service?"
- Not your father, not your grandmother. - I could get it.
But you don't have it now.
No.
"None." You'll hear from us.
Peace.
Next... Gorowitz, Milton.
With the draft breathin' in my face,
I figured I'd get me some of that deferred, preferred,
draft-exempted, US government-inspected education.
So I rode my thumb out into the West, to an institution of higher learnin'.
Had a nice trip.
Got in.
Time passed, and an old friend of mine drifted into that Montana town.
He got a warm welcome from the official local greetin' committee.
They must have liked his face.
- Hey, Roger. It's really you! - Yeah.
What's happenin'? Seen Ray and Alice?
Yeah, they told me you were doin' time out here.
- What are they up to? - Buyin' a church!
- Oh! Ray turnin' religious? - They're gonna live in it.
Hey, knock it off.
Speakin' of which, can I crash here tonight?
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
- We'll get you a room in the mornin'. - I said knock it off!
(Arlo) With quieter neighbours.
- Good seein' you. - It's good seeing you.
(# "Morning Mood" from "Peer Gynt Suite" by Grieg)
(# classical)
(# honky-tonk)
Stop that! Stop it this instant!
For goodness' sake, stop it!
Perhaps you'd tell me who did write that folk junk you're playing.
I wrote it. Me.
In that case, Mr Guthrie, there's really nothing I can teach you.
You are devoid of musical talent!
I seem to have this habit of attracting praise.
I won't have it. Stop that. Stop that right at this instant.
We paid your rent.
I only rented this room to your... friend because you said you were a student.
- I am a student. - What's that funny smell?
What funny smell?
- You Arlo Guthrie? - Get out.
Arlo Guthrie?
- Got a search warrant? - Shut up. We'll ask the questions.
You guys had better take a nice long leak.
Out the door. This is none of your business.
- You know a kid named Roger Crowther? - Huh?
- Kid you were seen talking to yesterday. - Me?
Who else around has such long curly locks, curly locks?
Who's Ray and Alice Brock, Trinity Church, Housatonic, Mass?
Your friend left some things behind.
He got into some rough stuff with a few of our good citizens last night.
We had to put him on the bus, so we thought we'd just drop by
and let you know that we're ready to help you too, anytime you'd like.
(# country and western on jukebox)
Hey, honey. What happened to your long-haired girlfriend?
I was thinkin' of askin' you two for a date.
Don't rile her, Jed. Can't you tell she just came from the beauty parlour?
Nah. They wouldn't leave it all greasy filthy like that.
They'd have teased...
Police! The police!
(alarm bell)
You broke my window! You pay for that!
(siren)
Hippie!
Lousy bum! You pay for this, you hippie perversion!
I seem to have this habit of gettin' arrested.
Left, left, left, right, left! Forward, march!
(man) American education, Mr Guthrie, has always dedicated itself
to the encouragement of an individual's freedom of thought and expression.
But is punching in the window of a local business establishment an expression...
- I did not break that window, sir. - Someone pushed in that window.
Someone, sir, pushed me out that window.
All right. I'll take your word for it this time.
But I am forced to put you on conduct probation for one month, and...
Seems like schools have a habit of dropping out around me.
(driver sounds horn)
(American football commentary)
(man) Oh, children, come on!
Let me grow my little power upon heaven and the more to glory,
and pray for me while I stand in your presence tonight.
The Lord will look down with his great power and rule upon
this little weak man that you're lookin' at. Oh, children!
How bad do you wanna go to heaven?
And if you want to, thankfully serve the Lord.
That's the whole matter today. Now listen to me.
Like the old writer of old, a sin to me in my hell.
We'll serve the Lord in the best manner and the way that we know how!
Oh, children! When the angel come, follow your redemption road!
How bad do you wanna go to heaven? How bad do you wanna serve the Lord?
How do you want to thankfully serve the Lord?
Oh, children! That scripture that was on my mind a while ago is coming back now!
Oh!
He that is in you, that is in the world, is bigger than he...
I'm gonna take those crutches off your body and your soul!
Throw away those crutches! Come here, baby! Come on! I got ya!
Come on! To me!
Yeah! Amazing grace!
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.
# Amazing grace
# How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
# That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
# I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see.
# Was blind, but now I see
Seems like Woody's road mighta run through here sometime.
What about the army? You're not in college now.
I don't know.
I know I just couldn't hang in there another second, Mother.
Will you be staying here awhile?
A kid out there...
I got his stuff. I'm gonna take it up to Ray and Alice.
See you, Woody.
- He's got a lot worse since I saw him. - Well... let's say no better.
(man) Good people, you know already the reasons for which this building,
hitherto consecrated and separated from all worldly uses,
shall be taken down or appropriated to other purposes.
To many of you, this building has become endeared by many sacred memories,
and you will suffer a loss and feel that something has passed out of your lives.
Such persons will be comforted by the assurance
that the presence of God and the consolation of our holy religion
are not tied to any one building.
We have caused that the altar hitherto in this church
should be carefully removed and protected from desecration.
(minister #2) And this fabric accordingly is hereby for ever secularised,
and the sentence aforesaid is voided and revoked,
and this place, hitherto a holy place,
and sacred to the preaching of God's holy word,
and the ministration of his holy sacraments,
is hereby pronounced secular and unconsecrated,
and no longer within our canonical jurisdiction. Amen.
- Yours. - Much obliged.
Thank you.
- Can we go now? - No.
Let's go.
Well...
- Look at the glass! - Yeah.
Yeah!
- Hey, Arlo! - Arlo!
- (Arlo) How ya doin'? - All ours!
(Alice) All beautiful!
Whee!
A place to be the way we wanna be! At last!
- What more do we need? - Amazing grace!
You haven't changed much.
You have. You're gettin' to be all there.
I remember when you ran the library at school.
We used to come in and take the books out just to see ya.
Well, I didn't mind.
- What's this? - A card from Roger. He never mailed it.
- Says he'll be here around Thanksgiving. - Hope he's OK.
You know, if we'd had a place like this before,
he might not have drifted off.
Yeah.
You'll be here awhile, won't you? Just a couple of days.
I just thought I'd bring Roger's stuff, see how you were.
I got some soup on the stove that's gonna be really good.
I'd like to, Alice, but I gotta get back to New York. Play some music. See Woody.
- Got a gig? - No, free stuff mostly.
- Gotta start somewhere. - You get first taste.
Mm.
- That's home cooking. - Yeah.
# From my hand to the waters
# Gone for ever from the land
# It will soon add to the sand
# I'm goin' home
(# harmonica)
- What's this? - It's dinner on the house.
- What about a cheeseburger? - Sure, if you wanna pay for it. This is free.
Hi, Reenie.
- You don't like sweets? - I like one or two, but...
Two's plenty.
(# discordant harmonica)
(sniffs)
Got a handkerchief?
- Use this. - OK.
- Reenie, how old are you? - 17.
- 13? - 15.
- 15 going on 14. - OK.
Well, what do you want? I mean, Jesus...
I'm a teenybopper. I already made it with Dick Bogardus of Raspberry Wristwatch.
This is his shirt.
And Jack Hennessy of the Unreal. And the drummer of the Democratic Convention.
And The Wanderer, and... lots of other big guys.
With concerts, and record deals, and everything.
And... (sniffs)
I'd like... well... you know... with you.
Cos you'll probably get to be an album.
Here.
Keep this as a souvenir.
Same as if we made it.
I just don't wanna catch your cold.
#...was Abdul Abulbul Amir
# There are heroes aplenty and well known to fame
# Who fought in the ranks of the Tsar
# But the greatest in fame was a man by the name of Ivan Skavinsky Skavar
We'll get all this stuff in here, then we'll lay something beautiful across it.
# He could imitate Irving, play poker or pool, and strum on a Spanish guitar
# In fact, quite the cream of the Muscovite team
- Is that for me? - Of course it is.
Beautiful!
# Was Ivan Skavinsky Skavar
Say but I'm glad all you sinners have come to this church
to get your corrupt souls saved!
- Yeah. - Yeah.
But have you put away the knowledge of the flesh?
- No! - Then get aboard this great soul ship,
cos we're goin' straight up outasight when we make this trip!
Take it up now, Paulie, take it up.
# Boil them cabbages down, oh, turn them hoecakes round
# The only song I can sing...
Oh, yeah. It's gonna be beautiful.
Gotta work the red in there some more.
We want those rooms real warm.
# Grandma had a yellow hen, we set her as you know
# We set her on three buzzard eggs and she hatched out one old crow
Good.
Yeah, man. Let there be light.
(neighs)
It's not that cold, Alice.
Thought I'd sleep with him. All those kids in our bed.
Oh, what's wrong with... what's wrong with here?
(vehicle approaching)
- (man) Hey, Ray? - Oh, Jesus!
Hey, Ray!
- OK. - (neighing)
OK.
I got a call from the hospital in New York. Shelly's gettin' out Monday.
- Somebody oughta go get him. - How about you?
- If I don't show up at the garage Monday... - You gotta get him.
I know that kid. He'll be back on the scene.
- Bellevue? - Yeah.
(Arlo's music through speaker)
(switches off speaker)
# Your love is sweetest, I wanna call you right now rag
# Little baby, oh little sweetheart,
# Yeah, I wanna ball you right now rag
Hey, Shelly. How you doin'?
- Hey, man. - Hi, Ray.
Can I talk?
Oh, yeah. She's cool. She owns the place.
I just got Shelly out this morning. I'm gonna take him up to the church for a bit.
But his landlady locked up his mobiles - those things he does - the big one.
He owes a coupla months' rent. You got some bread?
- Like eight bucks? - More like 80.
(whistles)
Ruth?
Thanks, man.
You should make it up soon. Alice'd like that. We miss you.
Yeah, I know. I'll be up.
Peace.
It's like the old days.
People drop in, you give them everything you've got.
You're not so unusual. We used to do that.
We used to do that, all of us in the movement.
Movements...
Would you believe it?
Woody still owes me for a train ticket out of town I bought him once.
I believe it.
Baby...
Girdles feel funny.
You don't find me attractive?
No, I don't.
I don't find you much of a performer, either.
That's cool. You got it out straight.
And so did I.
I played out my two weeks,
took a pair of hand-tooled boots and four square suits my mother gave me,
traded 'em for an amplifier which I amplified some
and put down as a down payment on a red VWMicrobus.
Got me a Trinity Racing Association triangle from Ray and stuck it on the door.
Now if I can just get me a couple of hit records, I'll be all baled out.
(vehicle approaching)
Hey, man. How you doin'? Where is everybody?
- Building Alice a restaurant. - You're puttin' me on.
Here in the church?
- No, in Stockbridge, behind the store. - You all alone?
- No, Jake's sleeping over there. - Jake? He's out of the army?
He's sleeping!
Hey, Jake. It's me, Arlo.
- Hey. - Hey...
- What's that? - Just what it looks like.
Dougie, can I have the stoves now, please?
(man) Hey, Ray. How you been?
Just simmer down.
(woman mutters)
OK, OK.
Hey, Obie! Would you like some coffee?
Annie, would you get the chief some coffee, please?
What do you think?
Excuse me.
- Hey, Arlo. - Hi, Ray. How you doin'?
- Well? - Just what I've always wanted.
- A restaurant? - No, a friend with a restaurant.
Well, anytime, baby.
For our kids, it's on the house. Right, Ray?
- You better believe it. - Pity I'm not heavy on hammer and saw.
Maybe you could write us a singing commercial.
I could do that.
# 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...
That's right. Tonight, Alice Brock opens The Back Room,
her new restaurant in Stockbridge, with such gourmet dishes as
beef bourguignon, costalettas Pojarsky, spaghetti alla Marciana, and many others.
All at Alice's Back Room, opening tonight.
Hey, everybody. Dessert on the house.
Arlo? You cut it, Arlo.
Here. You do it, man.
Yeah, do it, baby.
Hey. Sloppy Joe, huh?
Here, baby. Wait.
- Wait, Shel. I'll come with ya. - I've...
Don't crowd him. He needs to get his head.
Chief?
"Eat me"? I suppose so. I'll never tell.
Get us some plates.
- I said I had a girl for ya. - She seems to dig Ray.
Yeah, she digs Ray a lot. He's sorta been helping her some.
Oh, yeah?
I happen to dig botany.
I happen to dig music.
But they didn't know anything about it.
Maybe you should have gone to a better school.
(bell tolls)
Hey, what's that all about?
It's an ancient custom of the manor.
The lord and lady ring the bell after they make it.
Got ya.
Well, are you gonna make your move, or aren't ya?
Yeah, I could do that.
(she giggles)
(commentator)... heading down the back stretch, going to the far turn...
Number 376, Brian Parker. Here he comes over the jump.
Go, Ray!
Brian's taken over the lead, and he's clear.
661's taken over second place.
Don't you think he's won enough for one race?
Sure was weird the way you hit that puddle, Ray. Good pull-out.
Get your hand off the bike.
Hey, Ray. Ray!
Ladies and gentlemen, I thought you'd like to know we're awarding all trophies today
in honour of all the boys over in Vietnam and other foreign places
who are defending this great country of ours,
and in honour of the many fine riders who raced on this track
out there in the jungle in the forefront of the free world's fight against communism.
- Hey, what's happened here? - Let's get outta here.
We can't leave now, while they're out there helpin' out the free world.
Boo.
Did you think I was out here shootin' up?
I'm gettin' Ray's bike back together for the race Sunday.
- Do you still want to? - Want to what?
Shoot up.
That's over, Alice.
It's over.
I'll never go back on it.
Never.
(singing)
Hey, Shelly. Come on. We're goin' to the quarry.
- Ray, get me somethin' to eat, will ya? - Hey, Alice. Come on outta there.
Yeah.
It's gonna look good up there.
- Come on. I'm takin' you swimming. - With all these people for lunch?
Let 'em go into the kitchen and help themselves.
I'm not running a cafeteria!
That damn girl didn't show up today and I have to do it all myself.
Hey, you're letting this place eat you up, baby.
- Come on, Shel. - Maybe I should stay and wash dishes.
- Aw, can't he go for a little swim, huh? - Why ask me?
You wanna go swimmin', go swimmin'.
Go on, get outta here. Both of ya.
Go on! Out!
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, we're gone.
- Hey, what happened to my food? - (Ray) 86 on the food.
It's too cold to go swimming. Why don't we go back to the church?
- Hey, he'll come through OK. - I don't know. Maybe this is it.
She wouldn't have called if it wasn't serious.
Maybe we should come with ya.
No, thanks.
What is it? Like, cancer?
Huntington's chorea.
Oh, a war wound, huh?
It's not that kind of Korea, it's...
Huntington's disease. Attacks... attacks the nervous system.
- There's no cure for it. - How d'you get it?
- Karin, for God's sake! - It's hereditary.
- Why don't you get lost?! - Hey, hey. Easy.
Now don't you worry about that.
Stay cool, man.
Stay cool.
# Out of your dust bowl westward we rolled
# And your deserts were hot and your mountains were cold
# I've worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes
# Slept on the ground 'neath the light of the moon
How's he doin'?
He was gettin' worse, but now he seems fine again.
We just don't know what to expect.
Or when.
# California, Arizona, I make all your crops
# Then it's up north to Oregon to gather your hops
# Dig the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine
# To put on your table that light sparkling wine
# It's always we ramble, that river and I
# All along your green valley I'll live till I die
# My land I'll defend with my life if it be
# For my pastures of plenty must always be free
- Pete, the car. Play the one about the car. - Break out the guitar.
Don't know if it's right in tune. Try it.
# Let's go riding in the car, car
# Let's go riding in the car
# I'm a-gonna let you blow the horn
# Oo-ra, oo-ra, oo-ra, let's go riding in the car
# Let's go riding in the car, car
# Let's go riding in the car
Hey, cut it! She just seasoned it.
Try it now, François.
OK, clowns. Get out of this kitchen.
- Another taste? - It took the roof off my mouth.
- You been screwin' round with my chilli? - Screwin' around?
No, madam, I perfected it with just that pinch of spice required
to bring tears of ecstasy to this gourmet's eyes.
- Cut it out! Stop it! - Is that not so, François? Huh?
I don't know what you two got goin', but I don't need it!
- We're only horsin' around. - I've had it with you two-buck tourists!
And you crummy tied-up townies! I've had it!
And I'll tell you something. Startin' right now, I'm on vacation!
Hey! What are you doin' in New York?
Crazy ladies.
Now you got one more.
I was headed up to the church.
Go.
Hey, what's the matter?
I guess I'm the bitch who had too many pups.
I couldn't take 'em all milking me.
You got... you got anything to smoke?
You want to?
(# "Alice's Restaurant")
(banging on door)
- Who? - Me!
- Hey! - Hey, Arlo.
- Look what I found. - Roger!
- You look great. - So do you.
I was scared maybe those cops out there busted you up.
- Yeah, they beat on me some. - Roger?
Hey, baby! You didn't even let us know where you were.
- Is that any way to be, huh? - I had no time.
- Hello, Alice. - Hello, Ray.
I looked everywhere for you. Then we heard Arlo was borrowin' this pad.
Bingo's in Rome on some kinda foundation bread. I dunno.
- You've been here since you left? - No. I've been hangin' out some.
I got here last night.
Chasin' around after you, I ran into all sorts of people we used to know.
I invited them up to the church for Thanksgiving.
- Oh, no. - And Roger's bein' back...
- No, Ray. You're puttin' me on. - Just a few kids.
For Thanksgiving.
Hey, Alice?
It won't be like before.
I promise.
OK.
Hey, Arlo, what happened when you saw Woody? How is he?
The same.
Worse.
Well, you'll make it up for Thanksgiving, won't ya?
Oh, yeah. We'll be there.
Careful. That's got all the gravy in it.
What'd I tell you, man? Alice is a groovy cook.
We all got up there on anything that moved.
I guess Ray didn't invite so few kids after all.
Hi, Obie! Happy Thanksgiving!
- I need water. - That thing is air-cooled.
Yeah, but he ain't.
I was bringin' Ray and Alice a small present for Thanksgiving.
You scared the hell out of my baby.
- Hey, Ray, what'd you win? - Me? Nothin'.
Shel's our best rider.
- You can ride him to Canada. - Was wondering how to get my ass there.
- Hey, Alice. I've brought you a present. - Hi.
Hey, he's outasight.
(fanfare)
Gather!
This is just too much.
Oh, it's beautiful! Thank you so much.
He's wonderful. Isn't he great?
Mm.
- I made the turkey, she made the platter. - I wonder who made her.
No one I know about. You wouldn't do bad to try.
- Hey, Ray. How about grace? - Yeah, grace.
Grace be to Alice, for comin' home to cook this feast.
Yeah!
Grace be to us for bein' here to dig it, because we're beautiful!
Yeah!
Now we're doin' it! We got what we need!
Yeah!
- What more do we want? - Nothing!
Pastures of plenty! Come on, dig in!
# Amazing grace
# How sweet the sound
# That saved a wretch like me
# I once was lost, but now I'm found
# Was blind, but now I see
# When we've been there ten thousand years
# Bright shining as the sun
# We've no less days to sing God's praise
# Than when we've first begun
# Amazing grace
# How sweet the sound
# That saved a wretch like me
# I once was lost, but now I'm found
# Was blind, but now I see
Had a dinner that couldn't be beat,
and ended up with an amazing pile of garbage.
And we decided it would be a friendly gesture
for us to take the garbage down to the town dump.
So we took the half a ton of garbage and put it in the back of a red VWMicrobus,
took shovels and rakes and other implements of destruction,
and we headed off toward the town dump.
(bell tolls)
But when we got to the town dump...
We had never heard of a dump closed on Thanksgiving before.
And with tears in our eyes, we drove off to look for another place to put the garbage.
We didn't find one until we came to a side road,
and off on the side of the side road was a 15-foot cliff.
At the bottom was another pile of garbage,
and we decided that one big pile was better than two little ones.
Rather than bring that one up, we decided to throw ours down.
That's what we did.
And then we drove off into the sunset.
Sure was nice of you to cook that delicious Thanksgiving feastie.
It was sure was nice of you to dump all that garbage.
- You're both nice, but what's for dinner? - Oh, you...
(phone rings)
Hello?
Yeah, just a minute.
- Who is it? - Officer Obie.
Hello.
We found your name on an envelope under half a ton of garbage.
Do you have any information about it?
Yes, sir, Officer Obie. I cannot tell a lie. I put that envelope under that garbage.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Yeah.
After speaking to Obie for about 45 minutes on the telephone,
we finally arrived at the truth of the matter.
Yup. All right.
He said we had to go down and pick up the garbage,
and also had to go down and speak to him at the police officer station.
Now, friends, there was only one or two things Officer Obie could have done.
Maybe he'll give us a medal for being so brave and honest.
I think he'll probably just bawl us out or somethin'.
But at the police officer station, there was a third possibility
that we hadn't even counted upon.
You're both under arrest.
Wait. We can't pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on.
Shut up and get in the back of the patrol car.
So we sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the "scene of the crime".
Let me tell you about Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where this happened.
They got three "Stop" signs, two police officers, and one police car.
But at the scene of the crime there was five police officers and three police cars,
bein' the biggest crime of the last 50 years,
and everybody wanted to get in the newspaper story about it.
And they was usin' all kinds of cop equipment
they had hangin' around the police officer station.
They was takin' plaster tyre tracks, footprints, dog smellin' prints,
and they took 27 eight-by-ten coloured glossy photographs
with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one
explainin' what each one was, to be used as evidence against us.
Pictures of the approach, the getaway, the southwest corner, the northwest corner.
And that's not to mention the aerial photography.
(howls)
Alice!
- Save us! - To the rescue!
Hey, now wait a minute. Hold it! Hold it, Obie!
I said hold it. Where the hell?
- Let go of my arm. - Take off those handcuffs.
- You're interfering in my civic duty. - You meathead.
Haven't you played cop enough for today?
This side is reserved for officers of the law and criminals.
- You pig-eyed idiot! - I've had enough garbage today.
- Yours and theirs! - Stupid bastard! Cradle-hopper!
- Turkey-raper! - Badmouthing me won't get them off.
- Just pay the bail! - Bail?!
Yes, bail.
I want your wallets and your belts. Put everything on the desk.
I understand you wanting our wallets so we can't spend money,
but what do you want our belts for?
Kid, we don't want any hangin'.
Do you think we'd hang ourselves for litterin'?
What do you want now, Obie? Our teeth?
Obie said he was makin' sure and, friends, Obie was.
He took the toilet seat so we couldn't hit ourselves on the head and drown,
and he took the toilet paper so we couldn't bend the bars,
roll the paper out the window, slide down and have an escape and get away.
Obie was makin' sure.
Hey, when do we get our bread and water?
Shut up, kid.
I got the bail release. Let 'em out.
(mouths)
Come to mama, baby.
You may bring the bags out now.
(cheering)
- We're free! - Hey, man.
We want a little respect for law and order.
An injustice!
You're the only one I dreamed of the whole time I was in.
- Come on, man. - No. I can't stand the smell of cop toilets.
- Hell, I'll wait out here with ya. - Will you just leave me alone?
OK.
OK... baby.
Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. All persons having anything to do
before the honourable justice of the district court, James E Hannon,
now sitting at Lee, within and for the county of Berkshire,
draw near, give your attendance, and you shall be heard.
God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(clerk) You may be seated.
Roger Crowther and Arlo Guthrie, you will stand and face the court.
You are charged with illegal disposal of garbage.
- How do you plead? - We cannot tell a lie.
Your Honour, we're guilty.
I sentence each of you to pay a fine of 25 dollars,
and you will remove the garbage.
And Obie looked at the seeing-eye dog, then at the coloured glossy photographs
with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back, and began to cry,
cos he came to the realisation that it was a typical case of American blind justice,
and there wasn't nothin' he could do about it.
Now that we've paid our debt to society, what do we do with the evidence?
I don't give a damn, long as you don't dump it around here.
I'm gonna escort you to the town line. Now, get goin'.
- Gotta pick up my chick. - That figures.
Hey, come on. I'm gettin' rid out of town, and I told 'em I had to pick up my girl.
- Am I your girl? - I guess you'd better be.
(speaks Japanese)
- What'd he say? - He said he'd glaze my pot.
That's what I thought.
With all this garbage? Why can't we take it to the town dump?
I told you, he's ridin' us outta town.
- Sure does look that way. - Where can we dump it, then?
I think I know.
New York's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't wanna...
(ship's hooter)
(# Hawaiian guitar)
OK to come up?
Sure.
Looks like this letter's been followin' you around some.
- What day is today? - The 8th.
- Then my army physical is tomorrow. - Tomorrow?
It's 8am, Whitehall Street.
You just might be selected to defend our country.
Yeah.
That's weird. (laughs)
They'll never take anyone as crazy as you.
They got a building in New York called Whitehall Street where you get injected,
inspected, detected, infected, neglected and selected.
Hey, kid. Where's your papers we sent you through the mail?
- Didn't say anything on it to bring it. - All right. What's your name?
And I proceeded on down the hall, gettin' more injections, inspections, infections,
neglections and all kinds of stuff they were doin' to me there,
and I was there for two hours, three hours, four hours...
I was there a long time goin' through all kinds of mean, nasty things
and havin' a tough time, and they was inspectin', injectin' every part of me.
And they was leavin' no parts untouched.
Turn your head and cough.
Turn your hat and cough.
Turn your head and cough.
- That ain't enough. - It's all I had.
- Ain't enough. Do some more. - But...
That's an order.
Hey, anybody got any to spare?
And I proceeded on through and finally came to see the very last man.
I walked in, said "What do you want to see me about?" He said:
See the shrink.
Come in, my boy.
I went up there, I said "Shrink, I wanna kill. I wanna kill."
"I wanna see blood and gore and guts, veins in my teeth, eat dead burnt bodies. "
And I started jumpin' up and down yellin' "Kill! Kill!"
And he started jumpin' up and down with me, and we was both yellin':
Kill! Kill! Kill!
You're our boy! Right this way.
We only got one question: have you ever been arrested?
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Alice's Restaurant Massacree,
with full orchestration, five-part harmony, stuff like that, other phenomena.
He stopped me. He said:
Kid, have you ever been in court?
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the 27 eight-by-ten glossy pictures
with circles and arrows and a paragraph explaining what each one meant.
He stopped me again. He said:
Kid, I want you to go in there and sit down on the bench that says "Group W".
And I walked... walked over to the bench there, and there's...
Group W is where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army
after committin' your special crime.
And there was all kinds of mean, nasty, ugly-lookin' people on the bench there.
There was mother-rapers,
father-stabbers,
father-rapers...
Father-rapers, sittin' on the bench next to me, and they was mean and ugly
and horrible and crime-fightin' guys sittin' there next to me.
And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest father-raper of them all,
I mean, he was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible, and he said:
- What'd you get? - Nothin'.
I had to pay 50 dollars and pick up the garbage.
- What were you arrested for, kid? - Uh...
Litterin'.
And creatin' a nuisance.
- How long you been out? - A few hours.
We had a great time on the bench talkin' about crime,
mother-stabbin', father-rapin', all kinds of groovy stuff, until...
Ten-shun!
(gabbles)
I want you writing it down with these pencils and paper I'm gonna give you.
Pass these forms out. Here's the pencil. When you finish, hand 'em back to me.
And he talked for 45 minutes, and nobody understood a word that he said.
But we had fun fillin' out the forms and playin' with the pencils,
and I turned over the piece of paper, and there on the other side...
read the followin' words:
Kid, have you rehabilitated yourself?
Sergeant, you've got a lotta goddamn gall to ask if I've rehabilitated myself.
I mean... I mean, I'm sittin' here on the Group W bench
cos you wanna know if I'm moral enough to join the army,
burn women, kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug!
Kid, we don't like your kind! We're gonna send your fingerprints off to Washington!
- (Roger) Hey, what happened? - I'm free, man! I'm free!
- Let's get up to the church. - Sorry, man, I gotta go see Woody.
I don't know what I'd have done if they'd taken me.
Maybe... maybe I wouldn't have had the guts to go to jail.
Yeah.
I could have done that.
It's weird.
Good things in my life always seem to...
come out of not doin' what I don't wanna do.
Now that they're not after me to do what I don't wanna do,
what do I wanna do?
It may take me some hard travellin' to find that out for my own self.
(Ray) I don't know.
I don't know.
Had everything we had.
Look at him. He rides like a bird.
Gave him everything he wanted, everything I had.
He's got goddamn heaven here. What more does he want?
- Arlo? - Hey, what's happenin'?
(Ray) Hey, Alice. Watch it.
Alice, watch it!
Alice, get out of the picture!
Bitch, what the hell do you think you're doin'?
- Shut that damn thing off! - Leave it on!
Yahoo!
Hey, look at those! You ever see anything like those?
A great artist made those.
I'm the great artist.
Greatest... I'm the greatest...
artist in the whole... world.
How can you son of a bitches treat a great artist this way, huh?
Wanna get the cuffs off?
If he busts up the town again, I'll bust him. I got the whole book on him -
possession, pushing, the whole rap - so keep him down here where he belongs.
(laughs) I put my nut act on for Obie when he stopped the car.
I made him forget all about lockin' me up.
I knew they'd bring me back here.
Alice, can I have a Coke?
Where'd you get it?
- Get what? - The big fix you're flyin' on.
- Where'd you get it?! - I'm off, remember?
Absolutely off.
Absolutely off. I kicked it. I beat it.
Please. Please, baby, don't get back on.
- Alice, I swear, I'm not on. - My God, Shelly!
I had... I had two stiff vodkas.
We found your spike, Shel. Yeah.
- And your cooker. - That's not mine.
You promised. You promised!
You promised, Shel.
You promised.
You promised!
Yeah, a lot of promises have been made around here.
- (Ray) Where's the rest of it? - It's all I had.
- Goddammit! Where d'you keep it? Huh? - (Alice) No, Ray!
Ray, no! Don't!
Shelly, I'm gonna ask you one more time. Where do you keep it?
Huh?!
Yeah.
You'll get this whole church busted bringin' this junk in here!
It's not junk! It's not junk!
- Ray! Cut it out! You're hurting him! - It might help him.
One big muscle, that's all you are! One big muscle!
- He needs taking care of! - So do you!
- Cool it. - You wanna cool it, buddy.
- Where the hell are we, anyway? - I'm in my church. Where are you?
- If you read it like that. - That's the way I read it.
(motorcycle revving)
Shelly! Shelly!
Hey, there's Roger and your bus.
- Hi, Arlo. How was Woody at the end? - I don't know. I wasn't around.
- Not now. - I can't tell you how sorry we all are.
No, not now. Please, not now.
I'm sorry I didn't make it, Mother. I guess I shoulda hung around.
That's all right, baby. You couldn't have known.
Surprised me, too.
- 15 years... - Marjorie?
All his friends wanna know. When's the funeral?
There's not going to be one.
Woody didn't want a funeral. No funeral.
When we're all together, we'll take his ashes out to Coney Island.
Here I'd missed seein' Woody one more time,
and Shelly was buried before I ever made it back up there.
# Through the windless wells of wonder
# By the throbbing light machine
# In a tea-leaf trance or under orders from the king and queen
# Songs to aging children come
# Aging children, I am one
# People hurry by so quickly
# Don't they hear the melodies
# In the whining and the clicking
# And the laughing harmonies?
# Songs to aging children come
# Aging children, I am one
# Some come dark and strange like dying
# Crows and ravens whistling
# Lines of weeping, strings of crying
# So much said in listening
# Songs to aging children come
# Aging children, I am one
# Does the moon play only silver
# When it strums the galaxies?
# Dying roses, will they will their perfumed rhapsodies to me?
# Songs to aging children come
# This is one
Maybe I pushed him.
Maybe me leaning on him like that pushed him into overdose.
It's sorta sad to think of him ridin' all the way down there alone,
rentin' that flophouse room.
I guess maybe our beauty wasn't comin' through.
Maybe we haven't been so beautiful lately.
Nothin' to stop us from startin' out fresh.
Maybe we could get married again.
A real weddin'.
Not like our two-minute special down there at the courthouse.
A real weddin', with lots of singin' and flowers.
A real church weddin'.
We've got a church.
All that smoke.
Dark colours.
Sort of sets you adrift.
Lets you know your life is goin' by.
All of a sudden I...
feel in a hurry to find out what my thing's gonna be.
Who... and where.
(# rock guitar)
And Adam said "Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother
and shall cleave to his wife,
and they shall be two in one flesh."
Alice, do you take this man to be your lawful lovin' man,
for bad or for better, for drunk or for sober,
for high or for lower,
for husband and lover, today and tomorrow, till death do you part?
I do.
Ray, do you take this woman to be your ever-wedded woman,
for bitchy and giving, for love and for living,
in peace and dissension, in health and affliction,
today and tomorrow, till death do you part?
I do.
(all) We now pronounce you man and wife.
(# rock and roll)
Hey, more!
Hey! Come on over here!
- Oh, wow! - Take a look at that cake!
Get back in there, boy!
So long, everybody! Come back again soon. Bye-bye.
- Ray? - What's with the music, huh?
We need sound. Hey!
- Hey, what? - Ray.
Here's a toast to the marriage of Alice and Ray,
for whom we are here assembled today, and to reconsecrate the church.
Oh, yeah. Reconsecrate, huh? Reconsecrate. Oh, yeah.
We're really gonna lift it up.
We're gonna get a great big old plastic bag,
and we're gonna fill it up with helium,
(distorted) and float right up to heaven!
(cheering)
And you're all invited! Yeah!
And when we're high up in heaven, we'll throw flowers down to the people below,
and they're gonna know that there's some happiness left somewhere!
We're gonna get higher and higher!
Yeah, that's where it's at! Up there!
Up there! That's where it's at!
That's where it's at! Come on!
Let's get up there! Up there! Yeah!
It's up there! It's up there! It's up there! Yeah!
(chanting) Get it up there! Yeah!
Come on! Get it up there! Yeah!
Yeah! Get it up there! Yeah!
No, no. Don't go. Don't go. Have some wine.
Come on, come on.
There you go, Jimmy boy!
Alice'll cook us all something to eat.
Hey, uh...
I got something to tell you, man. I've been thinkin' about sellin' the church.
First you're flyin' it, now you're sellin' it.
I'm serious.
I bet we could get enough for it, what with all the improvements I've put in,
to get us all a couple of hundred acres up in Vermont,
and get us some of that land, land we can farm, land that'll feed us.
There ain't enough land around here. We've gotta have room to stretch out.
I bet...
I bet what happened to Shelly never woulda happened.
Huh?
Hey, man!
Don't be leavin'!
There ain't no land here! Just this little patch of lawn.
What can you grow on that, huh?
If we had a real place, everybody could have his own house.
We could all see each other when we wanted to, or not see each other,
but be all there.
(Ray) Arlo!
- Arlo, come on. Stay the night. - See you later, Ray.
All those kids gone, who hadn't oughta be gone.
- And now Shelly dead. - You know I'll be back, man. Later.
I wish we had 'em back.
If we'd had a real place, we'd all still have been together.
Without buggin' each other.
We'd all be... some kinda family.
(# "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
# And you can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant
# You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant, excepting Alice
# 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
# And you can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant