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
I never heard the term ‘southern gothic’ before, but I’ll never tire of those two songs.
Billy Joe was a guy not a girl
“Many have obsessed over who she was really talking about in that song?”
When it came out, the DJ said she was talking about Warren Beatty.
Had not thought about an induced abortion, not a developed baby.
Reasonable implied twist in the story.
They met in a chat room for people who want to do something evil to right the evil they had done before. So current y’all.
Great song....the gators got your granny...one of the better lines...swamp rock genre...
You think John Fogerty listened to that one?
Not exactly. But I am younger than quite a few folks here. :)
Kind of along this line, my boss (who is 18 years older than I, almost to the day) told us about a post on Facebook he saw. It was something about how the #1 song on your 21st birthday would determine 2021 for you. The #1 song when he turned 21 was “War” by Edwin Starr.
I mentioned that the #1 song when I turned 21 was “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses. He says, “That could work out well for you.” I replied, “No, it wouldn’t. I could end up in divorce court!”
Hmm, mine was “Ghostbusters”.
I play guitar too, and “Little Wing” is one of those songs I’ve learned to play okay, but not exactly like the original. It seems simple on the first few listens, but once you actually try playing it you discover how complex it really is.
I agree, I’ve always thought Glen captured the sweet Southern night air with that song! You can almost shut your eyes take a deep sniff and smell it!
That was my thought too
The other character that the song was partially about was a female and was seen at the bridge with Billy Joe throwing something over the side. She had a sudden loss of appetite when she heard about Billy Joe jumping off the bridge. And wasn’t she talking to him after church just last Sunday night?
Exactly but, despite its complexity, it feels like it was just Jimi noodling around on the guitar and that’s what came out. I just bought a sweet Taylor acoustic and I’ve been working on a bunch of old acoustic songs for the past several weeks-Blackwater by the Doobie Brothers, Machine Gun Kelly by James Taylor, Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot and some of his others as well.
Exactly. Every detail in the song can be sensed, felt, imagined - like you are there.
That’s what is so magic about the song. And Bobby Gentry emotes the song in every word, almost confirming that she lived this - this is her story.
Wonder what happened to her? Study Philosophy in LA area? That’s insane......Mississippi Delta girl?
And boy - she was the very definition of beautiful........
A little bit lighter toned, but also Southern story tellin’ style, are the more recent “Third Rock From The Sun” and “Bubba Shot The Jukebox.”
I'm thinking Jim Stafford slipped a spider down her dress at the Carroll County picture show.
How about Travis Tritt’s “Modern Day Bonnie & Clyde”?
“Well, it’s a long way to Richmond, rollin’ north on 95..”
Thought about that song while driving south on 95 one day and, all of a sudden, a 1970’s muscle car sped past on the right with a cop on its tail.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.