Posted on 04/21/2021 4:59:12 PM PDT by SamAdams76
It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered at the back door, "y'all, remember to wipe your feet!"
And then she said, "I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge
Today, Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"
And papa said to mama, as he passed around the blackeyed peas
"Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense; pass the biscuits, please
There's five more acres in the lower forty I've got to plow"
And mama said it was shame about Billy Joe, anyhow
Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
And now Billy Joe MacAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
And brother said he recollected when he, and Tom, and Billie Joe
Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show
And wasn't I talkin' to him after church last Sunday night?
"I'll have another piece-a apple pie; you know, it don't seem right
I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge
And now ya tell me Billie Joe's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"
And mama said to me, "Child, what's happened to your appetite?
I've been cookin' all morning, and you haven't touched a single bite
That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today
Said he'd be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way
He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge
And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge"
A year has come and gone since we heard the news 'bout Billy Joe
And brother married Becky Thompson; they bought a store in Tupelo
There was a virus going 'round; papa caught it, and he died last spring
And now mama doesn't seem to want to do much of anything
And me - I spend a lot of time pickin' flowers up on Choctaw Ridge
And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge
No. I will look for it though.
I like this Faulkneresque song very much.
Papa would be plowing the lower 40 yet today if he’d just won his damn mask. Masks.
I remember the day I heard that song for the first time.
Was in grade school.
The song gives an insight as to the customs and speech of western Mississippi. Dinner, for example, is the noon meal whereas in California, it’s the evening meal.
Yeah, you’re right. I guess I was hearing my own interpretation. What the heck did he throw off the bridge then?
it could still be a baby because she was seen with Billy Joe throwing something off the bridge. and then he went and threw himself off afterwards.
I was born in ‘76, so first heard about this song from “Reservoir Dogs.”
Best thing about Tarantino movies are the Soundtracks.
I was in Whittier, Calif. at that time, The summer was hotter than normal and the air was full of smog. In those days, weather reports on the radio included reports on eye irritation, for example: "the high temperature in Downtown LA today will be 92 degrees with moderate to heavy eye irritation."
The Beatles' "Dr. Pepper" came out around Memorial Day, but radio stations were already playing promos of the disc for several days beforehand. "Ode to Billy Joe" started hitting the airwaves a few weeks later. My favorite station at the time, KWIZ at 1480 kcs out of Santa Ana played mostly Oldies, but "Billy Joe" was one of the few Newies that made it onto the playlist.
Songs back then told a story. I loved this one. The music and lyrics combined painted a picture. You could see the family sitting at breakfast talking about poor Billie Joe, while the daughter sat silently with her secret, whatever it was. Many stories back then left the ending open, to be interpreted by the reader/listener.
Fwiw, They made a movie in 1976.
You don’t want to know why BillieJoe McAllister killed himself.
Was he a racist?
1967-68 we lived at Keesler AFB Biloxi MS. There was a lot of excitement over the local, in person appearance of Bobby Gentry, and many tickets were sold.
I can’t remember whether it was shortly before or after the appearance, but it was revealed that the Bobby Gentry advertised was a man. Outrage ensued.
More than 50 years have passed, and people are still talking about this song, trying to figure out the mystery.
I lived in Mississippi in the 60’s. God it was hot an humid! But at night the air was unbelievably soft and sweet! Like nothing I ever experienced up north. Can’t describe it. Some kind of southern thing.
Similar to my interpretation, but I always thought they probably visited the local herbalist woman who lived up on the ridge ‘where nothing good ever comes from’ to get something that induced an abortion. Otherwise I agree with your take.
What could a teenager do that give him cause to jump off a bridge?
Start the Jeopardy! countdown music.
I would prefer staring at this musical mystery vs another one more popular “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon.
Many have obsessed over who she was really talking about in that song? Personally, I like the song, but never cared at all about exactly who it was about. Doesn’t matter to me.
I liked a lot of Carly’s early songwriting and solo performances, just before she married James Taylor. One of my favorites from that era is “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be.” Good storytelling. Good performance without oversinging it.
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