Posted: 7/24/2020 5:08:11 PM EDT
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Ode to Billie Joe Bobbie Gentry 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, 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 The main character in the song seems to have had opportunity, although motive seems tenuous. The fact that Billy Joe may have put a frog down the main character's back seems to be a rather extreme reason to murder someone. Still, we do not know anything about the main character's mental state other than the fact that she seems to lose her appetite when the subject is discussed at dinner. Would a Grand Jury vote to indict? Is there enough evidence that Billy Joe McAllister was pushed? Or is it more likely he really jumped and the main character in the song loses her appetite because she's hearing about it for the first time?  Bobbie Gentry sings 'Ode To Billie Joe' live on the Andy Williams Show 1971 |
The song in question. Ode To Billie Joe |
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The plot thickens. Gentry says the song is based on the murder of Emmett Till. Story here While Bobbie Gentry admits the story is fictionalized, she did explain that it was inspired by the 1954 murder of Emmett Till. Till was only 14 years old when he was shot and thrown over the Black Bayou Bridge in Mississippi for offending a woman in a grocery store. |
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Quoted: The implication is that Billy Joe got the main character pregnant and they threw the baby off the bridge. He couldn't live with and killed himself. The main character ruminates on this by spending time up on Chaktow Ridge picking flowers That's as good an explanation as any. |
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Quoted: Ode to Billie Joe Bobbie Gentry 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, 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 The main character in the song seems to have had opportunity, although motive seems tenuous. The fact that Billy Joe may have put a frog down the main character's back seems to be a rather extreme reason to murder someone. Still, we do not know anything about the main character's mental state other than the fact that she seems to lose her appetite when the subject is discussed at dinner. Would a Grand Jury vote to indict? Is there enough evidence that Billy Joe McAllister was pushed? Or is it more likely he really jumped and the main character in the song loses her appetite because she's hearing about it for the first time?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz3SVL3DB6EThe thing they threw off the bridge was the singers miscarried baby that Billy Joe got on her. |
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Quoted: Nope, suicide, after she aborted/miscarried their chile, and "she an' Billie Joe threw somethin' off a' Tallahatchie Bridge." I could have sworn he jumped off the bridge because of regret over a homosexual experience. Maybe it was at the County Fair, or something. I don't know where I got that from, but I'm probably right. As usual. ETA - it's a great song, in any case |
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Quoted: My memory must just be horrible. I could have sworn he jumped off the bridge because of regret over a homosexual experience. Maybe it was at the County Fair, or something. I don't know where I got that from, but I'm probably right. As usual. Prolly the gay memory comes from Robby Benson in the movie. |
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Quoted: Prolly the gay memory comes from Robby Benson in the movie. Quoted: Quoted: My memory must just be horrible. I could have sworn he jumped off the bridge because of regret over a homosexual experience. Maybe it was at the County Fair, or something. I don't know where I got that from, but I'm probably right. As usual. Prolly the gay memory comes from Robby Benson in the movie. That guy was never in a movie where he didn't cry about something. |
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Quoted: That's as good an explanation as any. Quoted: Quoted: The implication is that Billy Joe got the main character pregnant and they threw the baby off the bridge. He couldn't live with and killed himself. The main character ruminates on this by spending time up on Chaktow Ridge picking flowers That's as good an explanation as any. No it isn't. Listen to the lyrics. The young woman was secretly in love in love with Billie Joe, who was not held in any social regard, and she never declared her feelings aloud to her family. The unstated factor in the song may well be race (and not simply class). This is my preferred rendition (skip to 14 seconds to avoid the talky intro):  Bobbie Gentry - Ode To Billie Joe In this rendition the lyrics through out the song have a keening quality to them. |
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Quoted: My memory must just be horrible. I could have sworn he jumped off the bridge because of regret over a homosexual experience. Maybe it was at the County Fair, or something. I don't know where I got that from, but I'm probably right. As usual. ETA - it's a great song, in any case Or maybe your latent homosexual tendencies are surfacing after all of these years    
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Quoted: Except!!! She lived with her family, and it's pretty difficult to hide a pregnancy from people who have been with you every day, all your life. It was probably some sort of item meant to symbolize a pledge to each other. Unless she aborted the baby and they tossed the dead fetus off the bridge. Then to cover up the crime she lured Billy Joe to the edge and KERPLOWEE! |
Probably because he only had one fucking minute left. Green Day Billie Joe freaks out at the I Heart Radio Music Festival and smashes guitar |
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Quoted: No it isn't. Listen to the lyrics. The young woman was secretly in love in love with Billie Joe, who was not held in any social regard, and she never declared her feelings aloud to her family. The unstated factor in the song may well be race. This is my preference/rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=watch?time_continue=15Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The implication is that Billy Joe got the main character pregnant and they threw the baby off the bridge. He couldn't live with and killed himself. The main character ruminates on this by spending time up on Chaktow Ridge picking flowers That's as good an explanation as any. No it isn't. Listen to the lyrics. The young woman was secretly in love in love with Billie Joe, who was not held in any social regard, and she never declared her feelings aloud to her family. The unstated factor in the song may well be race. This is my preference/rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=watch?time_continue=15First a guy wants to make it about Homosexuality, now You want to make it about Race.  Jesus Christ people. Stop watching TV. Not everything has to be Gay/Interracial. 
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Quoted: "There was a virus going 'round; papa caught it, and he died last spring" Relevant today, eh? Brilliant! You caught that too. How did a song from 1967 predict the Coronavirus so accurately? I wonder if Billy Joe was starting to show symptoms and decided to avoid an agonizing death from COVID? I think we may have solved it. But what did they throw in the river? A COVID mask? |
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Quoted: First a guy wants to make it about Homosexuality, now You want to make it about Race. Jesus Christ people. Stop watching TV. Not everything has to be Gay/Interracial. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The implication is that Billy Joe got the main character pregnant and they threw the baby off the bridge. He couldn't live with and killed himself. The main character ruminates on this by spending time up on Chaktow Ridge picking flowers That's as good an explanation as any. No it isn't. Listen to the lyrics. The young woman was secretly in love in love with Billie Joe, who was not held in any social regard, and she never declared her feelings aloud to her family. The unstated factor in the song may well be race. This is my preference/rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=watch?time_continue=15First a guy wants to make it about Homosexuality, now You want to make it about Race. Jesus Christ people. Stop watching TV. Not everything has to be Gay/Interracial. OK. Reference the source material (the song) and explain to us retards why the woman recounting the story (singing the song) withheld her feelings about this incident from her family. |
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Quoted: First a guy wants to make it about Homosexuality, now You want to make it about Race. Jesus Christ people. Stop watching TV. Not everything has to be Gay/Interracial. Well,, according to the movie, billy THOUGHT he had sex with a man, so he killed himself. |
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Quoted: Well,, according to the movie, billy THOUGHT he had sex with a man, so he killed himself. Quoted: Quoted: First a guy wants to make it about Homosexuality, now You want to make it about Race. Jesus Christ people. Stop watching TV. Not everything has to be Gay/Interracial. Well,, according to the movie, billy THOUGHT he had sex with a man, so he killed himself. That sounds like some weird movie!
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Quoted: Well,, according to the movie, billy THOUGHT he had sex with a man, so he killed himself. Quoted: Quoted: First a guy wants to make it about Homosexuality, now You want to make it about Race. Jesus Christ people. Stop watching TV. Not everything has to be Gay/Interracial. Well,, according to the movie, billy THOUGHT he had sex with a man, so he killed himself. Finally someone who knows what I'm talking about. |
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Quoted: The implication is that Billy Joe got the main character pregnant and they threw the baby off the bridge. He couldn't live with and killed himself. The main character ruminates on this by spending time up on Chaktow Ridge picking flowers Billy Joe sucked a dick, couldn't handle the guilt of being a gay, and killed himself. The object thrown off the bridge was the narrator's ragdoll (a symbol of her childhood and innocence). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe |
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Quoted: Billy Joe sucked a dick, couldn't handle the guilt of being a gay, and killed himself. The object thrown off the bridge was the narrator's ragdoll (a symbol of her childhood and innocence). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe Quoted: Quoted: The implication is that Billy Joe got the main character pregnant and they threw the baby off the bridge. He couldn't live with and killed himself. The main character ruminates on this by spending time up on Chaktow Ridge picking flowers Billy Joe sucked a dick, couldn't handle the guilt of being a gay, and killed himself. The object thrown off the bridge was the narrator's ragdoll (a symbol of her childhood and innocence). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe Ode to Billy Joe was a ballad written by a new songwriter, Bobbie Gentry, in 1967, which rocketed up the carts and made her an overnight sensation. Hollywood just wanted to harness the popularity of the hit song for easy box office, and screenwriters did their thing, and they made a movie in 1976. None of the shit in the movie came from Bobbie Gentry's creative mind. |
Interesting. Why Bobbie Gentry Vanished - 'Ode To Billie Joe' Singer's Secret History Very interesting. |
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Quoted: OK. Reference the source material (the song) and explain to us retards why the woman recounting the story (singing the song) withheld her feelings about this incident from her family. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The implication is that Billy Joe got the main character pregnant and they threw the baby off the bridge. He couldn't live with and killed himself. The main character ruminates on this by spending time up on Chaktow Ridge picking flowers That's as good an explanation as any. No it isn't. Listen to the lyrics. The young woman was secretly in love in love with Billie Joe, who was not held in any social regard, and she never declared her feelings aloud to her family. The unstated factor in the song may well be race. This is my preference/rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=watch?time_continue=15First a guy wants to make it about Homosexuality, now You want to make it about Race. Jesus Christ people. Stop watching TV. Not everything has to be Gay/Interracial. OK. Reference the source material (the song) and explain to us retards why the woman recounting the story (singing the song) withheld her feelings about this incident from her family. LoL. . Really? That’s about the strangest thing I’ve ever had to explain. There used to be this thing called “morality.” People who didn’t practice it were shamed. What year were you born? |
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Billy Joe was a virgin. His friends took him to a carnival to get him laid in a traveling whore house and he panicked/fled when it was time to seal the deal. I ain’t right! I have been with a man…which is a sin against nature, a sin against God!” He was finally accepted he was gay and then killed himself by jumping off the bridge. 
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Quoted: Billy Joe sucked a dick, couldn't handle the guilt of being a gay, and killed himself. The object thrown off the bridge was the narrator's ragdoll (a symbol of her childhood and innocence). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe Quoted: Quoted: The implication is that Billy Joe got the main character pregnant and they threw the baby off the bridge. He couldn't live with and killed himself. The main character ruminates on this by spending time up on Chaktow Ridge picking flowers Billy Joe sucked a dick, couldn't handle the guilt of being a gay, and killed himself. The object thrown off the bridge was the narrator's ragdoll (a symbol of her childhood and innocence). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe Meh, read your own link. It says that’s a well crafted lie. Gay propaganda. 3/4 down the page under “Adaptations”. It’s funny that at the top, it says he’s a “White Boy”. I don't know how or why, that was ascertained. So, the Gay/and/or Interracial angle has been entirely destroyed. by no less a source than Wikipedia. |
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