Revisiting the Mysteries of Bobbie Gentry and Her Cultural Classic “Ode to Billy Joe”
James Perloff
July 14, 2023

[snip]

I have been in the middle of another serious blog post, and as happens sometimes, I take a break to write about something lighter. I’m sure some will consider this post a frivolous waste of time and will prefer to ignore it.

I want to start by saying that countless writers have tried deciphering the mysteries of Bobbie Gentry’s song “Ode to Billy Joe.” My opinions are of course no better than anyone else’s.

Mississippi-born Bobbie Gentry exploded onto the American music scene in 1967 when her hit “Ode to Billy Joe” became Billboard’s #1 single in just five weeks without any promotion. The associated album reached the top of the Billboard 200, knocking the Beatles’ St. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band out of the top spot. At 25, Bobbie was an overnight sensation.

Her musical success continued into the 1980s, but the foundation of that success had been “Ode to Billy Joe.” For those who haven’t heard it, or have forgotten it, here’s a live version of the song (not lip-synced).

https://youtu.be/HaRacIzZSPo

For those who’d like to see the written 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, 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 Billy 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 Billy 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

Two reasons for the success of “Ode to Billy Joe”—besides the beauty of the melody, lyrics and the singer-songwriter herself—were (1) it wasn’t just a song, but a story; and (2) it left listeners puzzled about two mysteries:

• What did the song’s narrator and Billy Joe throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
• Why did Billy Joe commit suicide shortly after?

Bobbie Gentry was asked about these mysteries many times, but always declined to answer.