3 Funny Folk Songs From the 1960s That Will Get You Giggling

Folk music has a reputation for being serious. Too serious. Overly serious. Of course, sometimes it can be fun to learn a lesson from a song. But then there are other times when your brain feels full and tired and all you want is a good guffaw.

Well, we got you! Here below, we wanted to highlight three songs from back in the day that just might induce a laugh from you, dear music fan. Indeed, these are three funny folk songs from the 1960s that will get you giggling.

“Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” by Arlo Guthrie from ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ (1967)

Arlo Guthrie, son of Woody Guthrie, has his time in the spotlight in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the reasons for that was this excellent, storytelling, funny tune. This track may also boast the distinction for the most words in the history of recorded music (just look at the lyric sheet one day!). Nevertheless, Guthrie scored a funny one here with this song all about garbage, city dumps, and this one strange restaurant.

“Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35” by Bob Dylan from ‘Blonde On Blonde’ (1966)

Bob Dylan is perhaps the greatest lyricist of all time. But what’s perhaps most incredible about his career is that if any song of his lasts throughout the millennia, it just might be this one. Why? Because teenagers of every generation will enjoy snickering at the song lyrics of this track and how Bob Dylan equates an action decried in the Bible with one that involves the munchies. Dylan, of course, was nothing if not clever. And he showed that off in this wonky folk tune from1966.

“Little Boxes” by Pete Seeger from ‘Broadside Ballads, Vol. 2’ (1963)

It’s not often that you hear Pete Seeger making a funny. But here in this folk song from 1963, he pokes fun at suburbia and all the prefabricated, personality-less houses. Speaking of the munchies, the song would later be covered and used as the theme show for the popular television series, Weeds. But decades before that, Seeger was making people smile with his cute, clever, and humorous song.

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