But the story isn't over. Not by a long shot. Later, when Arlo (son of American icon Woody Guthrie) gets called up for the draft, the petty crime ironically becomes a basis for disqualifying him from military service in the Vietnam War.
Guthrie recounts this with some bitterness as the song builds into a satirical protest against the war: "I’m sittin' here on the Group W bench 'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough to join the Army, burn women, kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." And then we're back to the cheery chorus again: "You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant." Who would have thought that a Thanksgiving tradition was born. The song would later become the inspiration for the 1969 cult classic film of the same name.