This song is a very astute commentary on poverty, callousness, and unintentional cruelty. The family in the song is a poor farming family from Mississippi and they are flippantly talking about the suicide of Billie Joe McCallister without even realizing that their daughter had a teenage romance going on with him. The family is very poor and they really don't have time to deal with anything except their daily routine and making ends meet. Bobbie Gentry grew up in the Mississippi Delta and eventually left the music business and went on to become a college professor in California. The song is southern gothic with a melancholy tone and mysterious lyrics. There was a movie made about the song in the 70s starring Robby Benson.
The movie didn't really have anything to do with the song. It was in no way connected with or endorsed by Gentry, and in fact the title was spelled different (Ode to Billy Joe).
Not sure they didn't know. The dad made a point to say Billie Joe "never had a lick of sense" and the mom seemed very eager for the "nice young preacher" to come for dinner. The same one who saw a girl that "looked like you" with Billie Joe, throwing something off the bridge.
I disagree with all three if you! The studio version is the definitive. Her delivery is rhythmic perfection in the face of some lines having so many words they shouldn't at all be able to have rhythm in concert with the rest of the song...anyway, just my two cents..
A southern gothic novel compressed into a song perfectly. As Bobbie said, unstated cruelty over passing the black eyed peas and biscuits, and her voice is amazing.
What's fascinating is the way she weaves the story about Billie Joe while she describes the family having their supper, a normal everyday thing, while discussing the death of someone they all know. They all seem so detached from the tragedy that's affecting the daughter directly.
I also thought that they threw their baby off the bridge. This is probably because the baby was born out of wedlock and at that time it was considered sinful.
You can just feel the heat and the haze of that place in the summer. The lyrics have puzzled everyone for years - was she involved with Billie Joe? What were they throwing off the bridge? A phenomenal period piece. The comments below about the callousness of the narrator's family towards Billie Joe's tragedy below are spot-on.
I love that she tells the story without ever actually telling the story, you pick up everything by other people’s conversations and reactions, you have to fill it in with your own imagination.
Gentry's vocal delivery and the arrangement of the song underscores the families' indifference to Billie Joe's death. No one seemed to notice how the narrator was affected by the news. Other than the mother's comment about the girls loss of appetite. At the time this song was popular, everyone had theories as to what Billie Joe & the girl tossed off the bridge. That mystery was never revealed to my knowledge. What ever it was it held great significance to the girl. Truly a southern gothic story.
@@jonathanlocke6404 Yes, I remember those as being theories. And I remember some saying it was an engagement ring. That the two young lovers had quarreled and broke up, with the ring being throwing off the bridge. Part of the appeal of this song is that mystery.
As a teenager in 1967 listening to this song, I got the impression that she and Billie Joe were walking and talking, picking flowers and just casually tossing them into the water. Now, she does it alone. A nice poetic interpretation for a time of poetic thoughts.
I thought of that Vicki Lawrence song and also the “One Tin Soldier “ song. This seems like the era of storytelling ballads. They all seem to have names like Billie Joe, Bobbie Joe, Billie Jack, etc
With just that opening line…”It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day…I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay”…paints a vivid picture and sets the tone for the entire song…
Growing up in the deep South, this song was and is an icon. So much time and energy was spent debating what the singer and Billie Joe threw off the bridge, but nobody has ever come up with a convincing answer, and Gentry has certainly never addressed.
One of the great American storyline songs ever written and performed sung hauntingly by Bobbie Gentry. We just don't get this type of musical story telling anymore. I remember this one well.
This song released in 1967, was a mega hit on both Country Western radio, and pop rock stations at the same time. Such a great story (Whodunnit) and Bobbie's southern drawl vocal appeal, make it a great "sit back and listen" sort of song/story. This song is Truley iconic. I was 11 years old back then, and I'm 67 now, and it's still as haunting as it was back then.
Conversation around the dinner table, so well integrated with mystery. Why she lost her appetite? Was she with him the day before? + throwing what off the bridge? The movie kept some secrets too but opens more thoughts. great song !
If you are a boomer, born to depression WWll era parents, unintentional cruelty was a way of life. It happens to others not you, acknowledge it then move on, there's life to do. Remember, the Vietnam war was going on during the release of this song and young American boys were fighting and dying far from home. For years there was a callus regard to that fact until it touched more and more families and communities. It was the peers of those brave young American soldiers that said enough and started the anti war movement. The hardened generation of people that experienced the depression and war were masters of unintentional cruelty and Bobbie Gentry put it in a song but yet people were more concerned about what was thrown off the bridge than the loss of life. It's a masterpiece.
I was five years old when this song was released - and I remember being profoundly upset by it. Every time it would come on the radio (a lot!) I'd go to my room, lie down on my bed, and feel awful for Billie Joe.
I think you hit on it. This song has many layers. There is catchy rhythm of the guitar. There are the strings in the background that give a Southern Gothic texture to the music. There is a sense of place. You can imagine the family talking round the dinner table.There is the story, and the unusual subject matter. And of course, there is the way the characters are each so self absorbed and seem to not be paying much attention to each other's reactions. So much is conveyed by Bobby Gentry's deep throaty voice. A classic.
Bobby Gentry is an American singer-songwriter who was one of the first female artists to compose & produce her own material. A lot of her songs were stories. Her biggest hit was in 1967 with "Ode To Billy Joe". Other songs are "Mississippi Delta", "Fancy", "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Sunday Mornin" (with Glen Campbell) etc.
"Raindrops..." and "I'll never fall in love.." are Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs. Maybe she covered them, but neither wrote nor any credit to her on copyrights or production service.
@@jollyrodgers7272 Yeah, I know who wrote "Raindrops...", and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", he wrote THAT 1 for Dionne Worrick, (I think that's how it's spelled) I just said B.J. Thomas was the first and original artist to record it. Why stop there, how about "Sunday Morning", that was along with Glen Campbell, I don't really care, I make 1 comment and someone like YOU has to make something out of it. (I won't reply back)
You should check her live performance of this from 67. It's slower and the vocal interpretation really sells the song and story. Love your reaction videos.!
Heard it often from when I was a kid - then one day I actually listened to it: such depth...picture the dinner table with her hearing her lover is dead and everyone dissing him
The mystery of the song is this: What were she and Billie Joe throwing off the Tallahatchie bridge? I have always thought it was the body of a baby that was stillborn. Billie Joe couldn't deal with the death, or the secret, and thus he was a victim of suicide. Just my opinion.
Since hearing it for the first time in the late 1960s, I'm still in awe of the story-telling. Another Bobbie Gentry song that slaps you with a moral dilemma is "Fancy." If you have a mind to check out other Gentry songs, just sayin'...
The narrative captures very well the phrases and voice inflections of the rural south back in that day. She doesn’t do it always but at points in the song she really leans into that drawl.
Puts a lump in my throat every time I hear it. Reminds me that our kids are hearing us, and have lives and emotions we know nothing about. Mom and Dad think this is so casual, but she obviously had a deeper connection to Bill Joe. The family's comments keep her guarded and she mourns alone. So simple, and so deep.
That's a really astute reaction, SalvoG. I never thought about the contrasting elements to this song - the simple guitar strumming, Bobbie's nonchalant vocals, the emotional strings arrangements and the shocking word pictures at every turn. I was a teenager when this song came out, played nonstop on AM radio. I can still remember the heavy humid summer air with her guitar strums floating by. Like a big something or two not said....
The strings continue her voice in the direction she was singing. The last part to me mimicked the flowers falling into the river and floating away, much like Billie Joe's body when he jumped. It also reminds me of how when someone's death affects you greatly, but the world doesn't care and moves on while you suffer.
Someone once told me about what he thought the meaning of the song was. He said it wasn't about the death of Billy Joe, but rather the reaction of the family. The only person to really think about and grieve for Billy Joe was the singer. I don't know if this is right but it did make me listen to the song in a different way.
One of my best all-time best songs ever!!! Love her her music..... and... deep lyrics. Bobby Gentry is a jewel!!! The lyrics describes the Southern Culture in the South and the mystery of the tragic event that really happen and wasn't solved. Love this song!
You should watch Bobbie Gentry's 1968 live performance of this song that she did for the BBC. Her manner and delivery give more insight into the song's intention and message than this recording does, I think.
Her affair with Billie Joe had been kept secret, even from her family. So, in the late 1960's (pre-1970's abortion rights), the first logical conclusion to the "mystery" is that the couple threw their baby off the bridge. And when Billie Joe felt remorse, he then killed himself the same way. There is also an implication that the Preacher's son wants to stop by for dinner because he knows she is now available. Likely she confessed to the Preacher about her affair, if not about killing the baby. Post-Row, this tragic story will become more common.
As someone that grew up in the 60's in the south, I can't count how many of these types of conversations we had around the table. Very matter of fact. Just something else that happened that day or that week. Especially when it wasn't someone close or family. Absolutely love this song.
Bobbie sets a tone with this song and then combines it with the other songs on this album to create a sonic picture of life in rural Mississippi. Watch her sing Nikki Hoeky. Just the way she moves and sings. There is a video of her singing Fancy in a red pantsuit that is the most sixties thing ever. I figured out much later than when my Mom danced to her records, she was doing whatever Bobbie was doing in these videos. Great talent and one smart business woman.
This came out when I was a freshman in college. It's a very odd song to have been such a big hit. But even today, and even though I'm nowhere near the Mississippi delta, when the weather gets hot and calm, the first line of this song leaps into my head. And I still know all the words.
Honestly, I've been a fan of this song since it was a hit on AM radio (Garden City, Kansas, public pool, 100°, crazy beach towels, the smell of coppertone). But! NEVER realized until you pointed it out....how much STRINGS predominate and intertwine every piece of the story ! Thank you for pointing this out. In a marvelous way, I hear the song differently now. Your facial expressions, when you were anticipating or savoring, a string interjection.....priceless!
Fancy is a hit of hers that was covered by Reba McIntyre . My fav song of hers is called " Papa Wont You Let me Go To Town With You." My mother played this album regularly in the late 60s .
The poetry of the lyrics is immaculate -- there are no inversions or unnecessary insertions (like "he did say" for "he said"). You could listen to them talking around the table and not notice at first it rhymes because it's so natural.
I graduated high school in 67 just before this hit the radio and everyone loved this song and we were rife with speculation about what they dropped off the bridge. But as teenagers the song resonated -- there was clearly a tragic end to a teenage romance and an indifferent, really blithely uncaring bunch of adults around them. Never forgot this song; never get tired of hearing it. Yes it's masterful storytelling.
I have so many others have said please please please go back and watch the live version just as good as this but it's great to watch her she's so sweet
Since he has enough land to have a "lower 40," and since they're so poor he probably has to do everything himself, he may stagger his crops to keep producing right up to the first snowfall (which may not even happen that often in Mississippi).
They hid a pregnancy, done throwed their baby into the water, he couldn't take it, so he killed himself. Or, in a different movie version Billy was "sexually taken advantage of" by some drunk guy, and killed himself because of the stigma of having had gay sex (even though it was not of his choosing). Either way, dark subject matter. Being from Mississippi originally, the voice is perfect, not like the "pretend" accents of modern day, which all seem to sound the same whether you are from North Carolina, Texas, or Louisiana. She sounds like dirt poor, hot, dusty, sweaty Mississippi. I appreciate that very much.
As a child during the 60s, I've always has a deep connection to this song since I also happen to share the same last name as the ill-fated Billie Joe. The best explanation of this song, imo, is from youtube channel "Beau of the Fifth Column" and his video "Let's talk about why Billy Joe jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge" His take is that its more about the the general noncaring attiftude of the family after the apparent suicide of Billie Joe as a lesson that life goes on, with or without you if you when choose to go out thast way.
Billie JOE, not Billie Joel ! All sorts of imagination plays into the distinct pictures she paints on the mind with this song, but when the film came out by the same name (Warner Bros., 1976) it gave me a slightly different perspective. I'll recommend you see that movie. Interestingly, it was produced and directed by Max Baer, Jr. - that's right, Jethro Bodine!
Great song. Unique, smokey voice with wonderful storytelling. Watching her perform it live is a must too.... sounds just like the recording; no fancy auto tune or nutthin' like that! You seemed to miss the bit about the preacher seeing a girl that "looked a lot like her" with Billy Joe throwing something into the water off the Tallahatchie bridge (prior to Billy Joe going in)
While Billy Joel would be deserving of an ode dedicated to "the piano man", this song is an Ode to Billy JOE, recounting the fate of Billy JOE McCallister. (There is no "L" on JOE.)
Been so long since I've listened to this audio record. I've gotten so accustomed to watching her sing it live in the 1969 BBC video which a lot of people react to...which incidentally uses the same strings track in the background but with her actually playing the guitar part on top of it in the live performance. Plus she just adds so many more expressive ways of phrasing in the live performance that are a little more than what the record presents. By the way this track was actually a guitar demo that she did and the Record company liked it so much, they just added the strings and the acoustic double bass. Also, apparently there were about 11 or 12 verses in this sing that they cut out to shorten the song for radio. Those extra verses have never been heard or read by the public. They are supposedly locked away in the Mississippi state archives. This was one of my favorite songs growing up. The whole swampy, southern gothic feel of the music and the imagery she paints with the lyrics is mesmerizing
I'd love to see you check out Concrete Blonde. They are such a great band! Some of my favorites are: Caroline, Scene of a Perfect Crime, Joey, Bloodletting, Roses Grow, Dance Along The Edge, Still In Hollywood, God Is a Bullet, Violent, Mexican Moon, Jenny I Read, Heal It Up, Walking In London, Everybody Knows. They have so many great songs though!
Great choice for another reaction. It is a great iconic story telling song. Leaves you with a lot to think about. I always thought it was a baby that was thrown off the bridge, thinking it may have been the girl's, but then she would've had to hide the pregnancy. If they did not realize that their daughter was romantically involved with him when she didn't eat, the daughter did keep the whole thing a secret.
Bobbie Gentry once said it didn’t matter what was thrown off the bridge. The point was the callous disregard of the family around the table. It’s a haunting song.
@@jainthorne4136 if the girl was callous enough to throw her baby off the bridge, why wouldnt they be callous about the news of him committing suicide over it? They knew and were keeping the secret. Kinda proves it DID matter what was thrown off the bridge.
I'm gonna pick at cha, but I'd rather you had read info after reacting to the song, to get your initial, personal opinion of the song/lyrics. There was a movie made in 1976, but I thought that was just one speculation of why Billy Joe jumped. Mainly because when I first heard the song myself I had other interpretations of what the reason could be.
I agree especially with a song such as this where the affect is so visceral. Feel it first, then let the research fill in with answers to the questions those feelings may have raised.
I am old enough to remember the first time I heard this song play on the radio. And still, her voice just gives me the chills every time I hear it. You really should check out her live performance of this. It is so much more powerful than the studio version.
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This song is a very astute commentary on poverty, callousness, and unintentional cruelty. The family in the song is a poor farming family from Mississippi and they are flippantly talking about the suicide of Billie Joe McCallister without even realizing that their daughter had a teenage romance going on with him. The family is very poor and they really don't have time to deal with anything except their daily routine and making ends meet. Bobbie Gentry grew up in the Mississippi Delta and eventually left the music business and went on to become a college professor in California. The song is southern gothic with a melancholy tone and mysterious lyrics. There was a movie made about the song in the 70s starring Robby Benson.
The movie didn't really have anything to do with the song. It was in no way connected with or endorsed by Gentry, and in fact the title was spelled different (Ode to Billy Joe).
And the movie is really good.
@@trishc3099 No, it's cheap made-for-TV trash, actually.
Not sure they didn't know. The dad made a point to say Billie Joe "never had a lick of sense" and the mom seemed very eager for the "nice young preacher" to come for dinner. The same one who saw a girl that "looked like you" with Billie Joe, throwing something off the bridge.
@Naz Fride We'll have to agree to disagree. It's not an Oscar winner, I'll give you that. It's not made for TV though. It was released into theaters.
Now if Billy Joel was seen throwing his piano of the Tallahatchie Bridge that would indeed be cause for concern. Pass the biscuits, please.
Hahahaha...very good!
You have to see the live version.
The live version is superior. Not that this isn't excellent, but she just pours on the soul in the live one.
Agree. I usually like studio versions better, but the live version from England knocks the studio version into a cocked hat.
I was about to comment the same thing. The live version is so much better
I disagree with all three if you! The studio version is the definitive. Her delivery is rhythmic perfection in the face of some lines having so many words they shouldn't at all be able to have rhythm in concert with the rest of the song...anyway, just my two cents..
A southern gothic novel compressed into a song perfectly. As Bobbie said, unstated cruelty over passing the black eyed peas and biscuits, and her voice is amazing.
Haunting, is the word I would use. I've always loved this song, as most of my generation does as well.
What's fascinating is the way she weaves the story about Billie Joe while she describes the family having their supper, a normal everyday thing, while discussing the death of someone they all know. They all seem so detached from the tragedy that's affecting the daughter directly.
Am I the only one who thinks that it's their baby they tossed off the bridge?
Don't you think folks would have noticed her condition? Not too easy to hide a pregnancy.
What they threw off the bridge is immaterial and yet everyone wastes time trying to figure it out.
No, you are not alone.
@@bob_._. yet it happens ... over and over.
I also thought that they threw their baby off the bridge. This is probably because the baby was born out of wedlock and at that time it was considered sinful.
You can just feel the heat and the haze of that place in the summer. The lyrics have puzzled everyone for years - was she involved with Billie Joe? What were they throwing off the bridge? A phenomenal period piece. The comments below about the callousness of the narrator's family towards Billie Joe's tragedy below are spot-on.
One of the best and saddest songs ever written or sung.
I love that she tells the story without ever actually telling the story, you pick up everything by other people’s conversations and reactions, you have to fill it in with your own imagination.
Gentry's vocal delivery and the arrangement of the song underscores the families' indifference to Billie Joe's death. No one seemed to notice how the narrator was affected by the news. Other than the mother's comment about the girls loss of appetite. At the time this song was popular, everyone had theories as to what Billie Joe & the girl tossed off the bridge. That mystery was never revealed to my knowledge. What ever it was it held great significance to the girl. Truly a southern gothic story.
As a kid, I remember the speculation was that it was either their stillborn child, or worse, a recently born child...
@@jonathanlocke6404 Yes, I remember those as being theories. And I remember some saying it was an engagement ring. That the two young lovers had quarreled and broke up, with the ring being throwing off the bridge. Part of the appeal of this song is that mystery.
It was probably draft papers. 1967, Vietnam was turning into a problem.
As a teenager in 1967 listening to this song, I got the impression that she and Billie Joe were walking and talking, picking flowers and just casually tossing them into the water. Now, she does it alone. A nice poetic interpretation for a time of poetic thoughts.
I adore this song. If you enjoy storyteller style might I suggest “the night the lights went out in Georgia” by Vicki Lawrence.
I thought of that Vicki Lawrence song and also the “One Tin Soldier “ song. This seems like the era of storytelling ballads. They all seem to have names like Billie Joe, Bobbie Joe, Billie Jack, etc
Yes! I like her version of that song best!
Was looking for this comment to up vote rather than repeat. You are correct, it is a worth follow up.
The preacher said he saw "a girl a lot like you" and Billy Jo throwing something off the bridge. That would be the unwanted baby.
No one knows what was thrown off. Even Gentry has said that it's whatever people think it is but that's not the point of the song.
You might want to listen to it again. 🙂
Why?
@@evanhughes1510 I think he may have missed something.
Perfection... Singing. Lyrics. Accompaniment. Storytelling.
It’s “Ode To Billy Joe” You have said “Ode To Billy Joel” everytime! Good Lord Man!
With just that opening line…”It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day…I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay”…paints a vivid picture and sets the tone for the entire song…
Don, thanks for typing the lyrics verbatim.
Growing up in the deep South, this song was and is an icon. So much time and energy was spent debating what the singer and Billie Joe threw off the bridge, but nobody has ever come up with a convincing answer, and Gentry has certainly never addressed.
The best discussion I’ve seen on this topic was Beau of the Fifth Column, “Let’s talk about why Billy Joe jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge”.
One of the great American storyline songs ever written and performed sung hauntingly by Bobbie Gentry. We just don't get this type of musical story telling anymore. I remember this one well.
This song released in 1967, was a mega hit on both Country Western radio, and pop rock stations at the same time. Such a great story (Whodunnit) and Bobbie's southern drawl vocal appeal, make it a great "sit back and listen" sort of song/story.
This song is Truley iconic. I was 11 years old back then, and I'm 67 now, and it's still as haunting as it was back then.
Didn't hurt her being more than easy on the eye, to go with real talent
same here, nearly 67 also - did you ever see the movie? Produced and directed by Max Baer, Jr. (Jethro Bodine).
Conversation around the dinner table, so well integrated with mystery. Why she lost her appetite? Was she with him the day before? + throwing what off the bridge? The movie kept some secrets too but opens more thoughts. great song !
I’m afraid you missed the mystery buddy
It went totally over his head...
If you are a boomer, born to depression WWll era parents, unintentional cruelty was a way of life. It happens to others not you, acknowledge it then move on, there's life to do. Remember, the Vietnam war was going on during the release of this song and young American boys were fighting and dying far from home. For years there was a callus regard to that fact until it touched more and more families and communities. It was the peers of those brave young American soldiers that said enough and started the anti war movement. The hardened generation of people that experienced the depression and war were masters of unintentional cruelty and Bobbie Gentry put it in a song but yet people were more concerned about what was thrown off the bridge than the loss of life. It's a masterpiece.
I was five years old when this song was released - and I remember being profoundly upset by it. Every time it would come on the radio (a lot!) I'd go to my room, lie down on my bed, and feel awful for Billie Joe.
The lyrics to the song are really a heartbreaking commentary on some peoples reaction to tragedy
I think you hit on it. This song has many layers. There is catchy rhythm of the guitar. There are the strings in the background that give a Southern Gothic texture to the music. There is a sense of place. You can imagine the family talking round the dinner table.There is the story, and the unusual subject matter. And of course, there is the way the characters are each so self absorbed and seem to not be paying much attention to each other's reactions. So much is conveyed by Bobby Gentry's deep throaty voice. A classic.
It is Ode to Billy Joe
You'll definitely have to check out Billy Joel's "Ode to Bobbie Gent". Then the mystery will be solved.
Billy Joel is killing me!
I wonder if anyone will ever do an "Ode to Billy Joel", lol.
Get on it Weird Al Yankovic
Sleepy, dusty Delta day….is a whole vibe. If you’ve experienced it you know.
Bobby Gentry is an American singer-songwriter who was one of the first female artists to compose & produce her own material. A lot of her songs were stories. Her biggest hit was in 1967 with "Ode To Billy Joe". Other songs are "Mississippi Delta", "Fancy", "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Sunday Mornin" (with Glen Campbell) etc.
"Raindrops Keep Falling O My Head" was originally recorded by B.J. Thomas and was on the soundtrack of the movie "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid".
"Raindrops..." and "I'll never fall in love.." are Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs. Maybe she covered them, but neither wrote nor any credit to her on copyrights or production service.
@@jollyrodgers7272 Yeah, I know who wrote "Raindrops...", and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", he wrote THAT 1 for Dionne Worrick, (I think that's how it's spelled) I just said B.J. Thomas was the first and original artist to record it. Why stop there, how about "Sunday Morning", that was along with Glen Campbell, I don't really care, I make 1 comment and someone like YOU has to make something out of it. (I won't reply back)
What makes it such a great song are all the unanswered questions. She wisely never revealed the answers, if she even knew them herself.
The song is Ode to Billie Joe, not Joel
Back in the day, sitting in the cafe playing this on the jukebox and discussing for hours what they were throwing off the bridge! Happy days!
A story with no resolution. After all these years. I love it.❤
the movie resolves the story..
One theory of what was thrown off the bridge was a wedding ring. She had rejected Billie's marriage proposal.
You should check her live performance of this from 67. It's slower and the vocal interpretation really sells the song and story. Love your reaction videos.!
Billy Joe
I always thought what they dropped off the Tallahatchie bridge was a stillborn baby
Heard it often from when I was a kid - then one day I actually listened to it: such depth...picture the dinner table with her hearing her lover is dead and everyone dissing him
The mystery of the song is this: What were she and Billie Joe throwing off the Tallahatchie bridge? I have always thought it was the body of a baby that was stillborn. Billie Joe couldn't deal with the death, or the secret, and thus he was a victim of suicide. Just my opinion.
Since hearing it for the first time in the late 1960s, I'm still in awe of the story-telling. Another Bobbie Gentry song that slaps you with a moral dilemma is "Fancy." If you have a mind to check out other Gentry songs, just sayin'...
The narrative captures very well the phrases and voice inflections of the rural south back in that day. She doesn’t do it always but at points in the song she really leans into that drawl.
I've heard the song, seen the movie and read the book. All three made me cry like a baby.
A great storyteller’s voice ♥️ I remember this song being on the radio ALL THE TIME when I was a kid! Her voice is mesmerizing 🎤🎶
Puts a lump in my throat every time I hear it. Reminds me that our kids are hearing us, and have lives and emotions we know nothing about. Mom and Dad think this is so casual, but she obviously had a deeper connection to Bill Joe. The family's comments keep her guarded and she mourns alone. So simple, and so deep.
That's a really astute reaction, SalvoG. I never thought about the contrasting elements to this song - the simple guitar strumming, Bobbie's nonchalant vocals, the emotional strings arrangements and the shocking word pictures at every turn. I was a teenager when this song came out, played nonstop on AM radio. I can still remember the heavy humid summer air with her guitar strums floating by. Like a big something or two not said....
STRINGS… Strings… 👏👏👏👏. They were added later and made the song…
The strings continue her voice in the direction she was singing. The last part to me mimicked the flowers falling into the river and floating away, much like Billie Joe's body when he jumped. It also reminds me of how when someone's death affects you greatly, but the world doesn't care and moves on while you suffer.
From New Zealand, absolutely love this song from the first time hearing.
Brilliant !
She was so good! We had so much really good music in the past! I loved this song and yet it was so sad!
Someone once told me about what he thought the meaning of the song was. He said it wasn't about the death of Billy Joe, but rather the reaction of the family. The only person to really think about and grieve for Billy Joe was the singer. I don't know if this is right but it did make me listen to the song in a different way.
Bobbie Gentry has such a good ear for dialogue.
Brilliant and beautiful performer. Excellent song and sooooo Southern Gothic.
One of my best all-time best songs ever!!! Love her her music..... and... deep lyrics. Bobby Gentry is a jewel!!! The lyrics describes the Southern Culture in the South and the mystery of the tragic event that really happen and wasn't solved. Love this song!
You should watch Bobbie Gentry's 1968 live performance of this song that she did for the BBC. Her manner and delivery give more insight into the song's intention and message than this recording does, I think.
You are all about finding these glorious gems :) Its amazing how a song can bring you back ..well a life time ago .
Her affair with Billie Joe had been kept secret, even from her family. So, in the late 1960's (pre-1970's abortion rights), the first logical conclusion to the "mystery" is that the couple threw their baby off the bridge. And when Billie Joe felt remorse, he then killed himself the same way. There is also an implication that the Preacher's son wants to stop by for dinner because he knows she is now available. Likely she confessed to the Preacher about her affair, if not about killing the baby. Post-Row, this tragic story will become more common.
As someone that grew up in the 60's in the south, I can't count how many of these types of conversations we had around the table. Very matter of fact. Just something else that happened that day or that week. Especially when it wasn't someone close or family. Absolutely love this song.
Storytelling in a song at its best.
Bobbie sets a tone with this song and then combines it with the other songs on this album to create a sonic picture of life in rural Mississippi. Watch her sing Nikki Hoeky. Just the way she moves and sings. There is a video of her singing Fancy in a red pantsuit that is the most sixties thing ever. I figured out much later than when my Mom danced to her records, she was doing whatever Bobbie was doing in these videos. Great talent and one smart business woman.
Got to try Fancy, though it was covered by Reba MacEntire. 56 years later, we're still lost with the song.
This came out when I was a freshman in college. It's a very odd song to have been such a big hit. But even today, and even though I'm nowhere near the Mississippi delta, when the weather gets hot and calm, the first line of this song leaps into my head. And I still know all the words.
Honestly, I've been a fan of this song since it was a hit on AM radio (Garden City, Kansas, public pool, 100°, crazy beach towels, the smell of coppertone). But! NEVER realized until you pointed it out....how much STRINGS predominate and intertwine every piece of the story ! Thank you for pointing this out. In a marvelous way, I hear the song differently now. Your facial expressions, when you were anticipating or savoring, a string interjection.....priceless!
One of my favorites! Hauntingly beautiful!
Callous disregard.
That's life!
Fancy is a hit of hers that was covered by Reba McIntyre . My fav song of hers is called " Papa Wont You Let me Go To Town With You." My mother played this album regularly in the late 60s .
I had forgotten how deep her voice was.
The poetry of the lyrics is immaculate -- there are no inversions or unnecessary insertions (like "he did say" for "he said"). You could listen to them talking around the table and not notice at first it rhymes because it's so natural.
I graduated high school in 67 just before this hit the radio and everyone loved this song and we were rife with speculation about what they dropped off the bridge. But as teenagers the song resonated -- there was clearly a tragic end to a teenage romance and an indifferent, really blithely uncaring bunch of adults around them. Never forgot this song; never get tired of hearing it. Yes it's masterful storytelling.
I have so many others have said please please please go back and watch the live version just as good as this but it's great to watch her she's so sweet
A truly great song , but as a farmer I never understood why the father was ploughing in June !
Since he has enough land to have a "lower 40," and since they're so poor he probably has to do everything himself, he may stagger his crops to keep producing right up to the first snowfall (which may not even happen that often in Mississippi).
It's storytelling at it's best. Hypnotic. Also it leaves you dangling about what was thrown off the bridge>
They hid a pregnancy, done throwed their baby into the water, he couldn't take it, so he killed himself. Or, in a different movie version Billy was "sexually taken advantage of" by some drunk guy, and killed himself because of the stigma of having had gay sex (even though it was not of his choosing). Either way, dark subject matter. Being from Mississippi originally, the voice is perfect, not like the "pretend" accents of modern day, which all seem to sound the same whether you are from North Carolina, Texas, or Louisiana. She sounds like dirt poor, hot, dusty, sweaty Mississippi. I appreciate that very much.
The level of detail portrayed in the story telling just pulls you in.
As a child during the 60s, I've always has a deep connection to this song since I also happen to share the same last name as the ill-fated Billie Joe. The best explanation of this song, imo, is from youtube channel "Beau of the Fifth Column" and his video "Let's talk about why Billy Joe jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge" His take is that its more about the the general noncaring attiftude of the family after the apparent suicide of Billie Joe as a lesson that life goes on, with or without you if you when choose to go out thast way.
This song was turned into a movie Called, "Ode To Billy Joe" that was directed and produced by Max Baer Jr., with a screenplay by Herman Raucher.
Definitely one of my favorite songs ever!!!!!!!!!!!!
Message seems to be ....... "Too bad about Billy Joe, now I've got work to do."
Everyone is trying to solve the mystery, but the song is really about the casual cruelty exhibited in the conversation around the dinner table.
The song is "HAUNTING" that's why I liked it
Billie JOE, not Billie Joel ! All sorts of imagination plays into the distinct pictures she paints on the mind with this song, but when the film came out by the same name (Warner Bros., 1976) it gave me a slightly different perspective. I'll recommend you see that movie. Interestingly, it was produced and directed by Max Baer, Jr. - that's right, Jethro Bodine!
I love Bobbie and this song. I also like her song "Fancy".
God, i haven't heard this in a dogs age! You had me smiling as usual when those strings did that dramatic squiggly drop near the end of the song
Another fantastic song from WAAAAAY back in the day is by Mary Hopkin, called Those Were the Days. Very Powerful lyrics ❤
Great song. Unique, smokey voice with wonderful storytelling. Watching her perform it live is a must too.... sounds just like the recording; no fancy auto tune or nutthin' like that! You seemed to miss the bit about the preacher seeing a girl that "looked a lot like her" with Billy Joe throwing something into the water off the Tallahatchie bridge (prior to Billy Joe going in)
It definitely is a great classic song, what a great story teller
I think you missed the most controversial verse of the song
What verse was that?
@@Kayjee17 The one that said some1 was with him on the bridge and it looked like her
While Billy Joel would be deserving of an ode dedicated to "the piano man", this song is an Ode to Billy JOE, recounting the fate of Billy JOE McCallister. (There is no "L" on JOE.)
Been so long since I've listened to this audio record. I've gotten so accustomed to watching her sing it live in the 1969 BBC video which a lot of people react to...which incidentally uses the same strings track in the background but with her actually playing the guitar part on top of it in the live performance. Plus she just adds so many more expressive ways of phrasing in the live performance that are a little more than what the record presents. By the way this track was actually a guitar demo that she did and the Record company liked it so much, they just added the strings and the acoustic double bass. Also, apparently there were about 11 or 12 verses in this sing that they cut out to shorten the song for radio. Those extra verses have never been heard or read by the public. They are supposedly locked away in the Mississippi state archives. This was one of my favorite songs growing up. The whole swampy, southern gothic feel of the music and the imagery she paints with the lyrics is mesmerizing
THERE IS A LIVE PERFORMANCE TO THIS. ITS WORTH LOOKIN INTO IT.❤
You really should see her perform her song ‘Fancy’ That’s a good storytelling song
I'd love to see you check out Concrete Blonde. They are such a great band! Some of my favorites are: Caroline, Scene of a Perfect Crime, Joey, Bloodletting, Roses Grow, Dance Along The Edge, Still In Hollywood, God Is a Bullet, Violent, Mexican Moon, Jenny I Read, Heal It Up, Walking In London, Everybody Knows. They have so many great songs though!
Great choice for another reaction. It is a great iconic story telling song. Leaves you with a lot to think about. I always thought it was a baby that was thrown off the bridge, thinking it may have been the girl's, but then she would've had to hide the pregnancy. If they did not realize that their daughter was romantically involved with him when she didn't eat, the daughter did keep the whole thing a secret.
Bobbie Gentry once said it didn’t matter what was thrown off the bridge. The point was the callous disregard of the family around the table. It’s a haunting song.
@@jainthorne4136 I remember hearing her say that.
@@jainthorne4136 if the girl was callous enough to throw her baby off the bridge, why wouldnt they be callous about the news of him committing suicide over it? They knew and were keeping the secret. Kinda proves it DID matter what was thrown off the bridge.
I'm gonna pick at cha, but I'd rather you had read info after reacting to the song, to get your initial, personal opinion of the song/lyrics. There was a movie made in 1976, but I thought that was just one speculation of why Billy Joe jumped. Mainly because when I first heard the song myself I had other interpretations of what the reason could be.
I agree especially with a song such as this where the affect is so visceral. Feel it first, then let the research fill in with answers to the questions those feelings may have raised.
I am old enough to remember the first time I heard this song play on the radio. And still, her voice just gives me the chills every time I hear it. You really should check out her live performance of this. It is so much more powerful than the studio version.
This song congers up different scenarios about what Billie Joe was thinking when he made the big jump.. ,,
This one can be haunting.