About The Song
This song narrates the tale of the fictional character Billie Joe McAllister, who takes his own life by leaping off the Tallahatchie Bridge. While the Tallahatchie Bridge in Money, Mississippi, did collapse in 1972, it was later reconstructed. Notably, the narrative is entirely fabricated by Gentry, who hails from Mississippi.
The lyrics depict a family learning about Billie Joe’s demise and casually discussing it at the dinner table, intertwining their everyday concerns. Bobbie Gentry clarified that the song’s essence lies in the family’s indifferent manner of addressing the suicide, serving as a portrayal of unwitting cruelty.
In the digital age, characterized by social networks and various platforms enabling commentary on news events, the song’s message gains added relevance. The ease with which people express opinions, often lacking empathy for distant suffering, becomes apparent.
Gentry’s connection to the Tallahatchie Bridge stems from her Mississippi roots, having grown up without electricity. Raised in a musical environment, she learned to sing in church and received a piano from her family to nurture her talents. Relocating to Palm Springs, California, at 13, she performed locally under the stage name Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter, inspired by the movie “Ruby Gentry”).
After high school, Gentry studied at UCLA and secured a deal with Larry Shayne Music, sending a demo tape of her song “Mississippi Delta” to Capitol Records. Impressed, producer Kelly Gordon signed her as an artist, and she recorded “Ode To Billie Joe” as the B-side for “Mississippi Delta.” Capitol, recognizing the hit potential, flipped the sides, releasing it on July 10, 1967. The song ascended to #1 in the US on August 26, remaining there for four weeks, solidifying its status as one of the era’s enduring hits.
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Lyrics
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 out the back door, “Y’all remember to wipe your feet”
And then she said, “I got some news this mornin’ from Choctaw Ridge
Today Billie Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge”And Papa said to Mama as he passed around the black-eyed peas
“Well, Billie 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 a shame about Billie Joe, anyhow
Seems like nothin’ ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
And now Billie Joe MacAllister’s jumped off the Tallahatchie BridgeAnd brother said he recollected when he and Tom and Billie Joe
He 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 of apple pie. You know, it don’t seem right
I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge
And now you tell me Billie Joe’s jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge”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 Billie Joe was throwing somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge”A year has come ‘n’ gone since we heard the news ’bout Billie 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 wanna 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