In Hear This , A. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week: songs that tell a story. A few things are frustrating about this legendary song, and not just that it leaves lingering questions.
So we are destined to follow along as everyone discusses why Billie Joe jumped, but no one has a straightforward answer. The only clue is that the local pastor saw someone who looked just like the narrator with Billie Joe, tossing something off the bridge. After co-producing her debut solo record with her husband in , Presley teamed with Oran Thornton to produce Wrangled, a critically acclaimed record about country radio rejecting women that has been meta-rejected by country radio.
In both songs, the women liken themselves to prostitutes, but come to different conclusions. In , Bobbie Gentry, for the first time in her career, canceled a show — a gig she was scheduled to perform with Mac Davis.
A self-declared workaholic, Bobbie Gentry worked through broken bones, broken hearts, and sheer exhaustion. Aside from a few industry events, Bobbie Gentry never appeared in public as a performer again. She simply hung up her heels and vanished, leaving us only her music and everything she already told us, for anyone who wants to listen. Bobbie Gentry, circa Newswire Powered by. Close the menu.
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Arrow Created with Sketch. Calendar Created with Sketch. Just the use of cool sounding words. It collapsed in Growing up in Mississippi and knowing this song for as long as I can remember. I always thought it was about an interracial couple. They were in a relationship and her daddy made him jump off the bridge. It could have been an American Indian dude. Choctaw and Tallahatchie illustrate Native American influence in this part of Mississippi. They could b throwing the flowers he brought or a ring.
Rem bet papa said billy joe never had a luck of sens. But I think the draft ca d makes the most sense. No electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing.
Farming, picking cotton, baling hay, planting crops, etc were the ONLY way to feed the family. You simply put one foot in front of the other and kept trudging forward. No fancy or trendy theory. It was practically all of rural America. They had tanks of water shipped in on truck. But never an indoor toilet. I remember getting up in the middle of the night to go to the outhouse.
Had to get dressed first in my snowsuit and then try to use the thing in 15 degree weather. It was the 50s. No parent woke up then just to help you go to the outhouse. Capitol Records needs to release the full length seven minute version.
Will it answer the question, or will it ask even more? But my guess is a miscarried baby that they were starting to build their lives together around. I know at that age it might be considered a small thing but broken dreams can be devastating. I love how she continues to throw flowers off the bridge for Billy Joe. I feel the same as you. They may have been interracial which would add to the necessity of getting rid of the unborn fetus before the town found out they were together.
Just my. I have been haunted by this song since I first heard it maybe 45 years ago.. I loved it then.. I love the movie, Benson and Bobbie Gentry!
Always have, always will. Might be time for the truth or not. The ode is a timeless ballad and one likely to be of deep significance to bobbie gentry herself. When that song came out, we were all trying to solve the mystery. Yes, it was a baby. He jumped off the bridge from heartache over losing the baby, over killing the baby, over rejection from the girlfriend never occurred to me.
These are my opinions. Shame on us, and I am guilty as well, because I never thought of that back then. And if it was in the Mississippi delta I doubt that there would be any heights sufficient to be lethal. But he could have weighted himself down and drowned. I always assumed the song was beautiful poetic fiction.
But if the details of the song are fact and Bobbie Gentry was in love with him, then I commend Gentry for not only her poetic and musical talent but also her bravery in sharing her deeply intimate story. I remember thinking that the family was unwittingly callous. Save gentry herself, the world gave not much thought to Billy Joe. I thought the pain of that on top of the loss of her lover and her empathy for him as she herself is treated with insensitivity to be the main message. The public reaction seemed to miss or at least not appreciate that aspect of the story.
Then the movie comes out and mucks up the song. The historical timing with the lunacy of sending more troops to Vietnam, naturally expands the social statement and gives it universal appreciation. However this bridge is not the one in the film. The film bridge is in Roebuck Ms about 6 miles from Greenwood and has since been replaced with a concrete bridge.
The connection to Till with Billy is preposterous for the poster who made that comment. Hope that clears up some of your questions…. It could be anything. I respect her for maintaining the mystery and never telling what it was that they threw off the bridge.
It makes the song 10X more badass. You are absolutely right. Well I think Bobbie Gentry is hotter than fire. I cant believe she has let wonder the two questions for so long and only she has the answer and I believe there is an answer Sure would like to see a picture of her today I just bet she is still good a looking lady. Those Mississippi girls are the best I know a few mmmm. Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the bridge because he was struggling with the fact that he was in love with a young girl, but physically attracted to a man.
He had a sexual encounter with that man. He realized that he loved the girl but could not be with her in the way they both wanted him to be. Bravo, Scot…well said. Scot is correct. Only Hollywood can put that kind of twist on a good story and ruin it. The movie is a fictional story inspired by the song, which came out in Inspired by, NOT a biography. The theory about Emmett Till is about as plausible as saying that the German co-pilot recently committed suicide and mass murder because, thanks to continued teaching in German schools that successive generations of Germans -not even born during the war- must bear the guilt of the holocaust, and thus, he did the bastardly deed out of his own guilt.
This song has been a favorite of mine ever since it first aired. This is the most haunting song that I have ever listened to. And I have been a music fan since this was out.
And what a lovely woman that sang it to us. Thanks for clearing up a year mystery for me! Great piece! Bobby Gentry retired from performing and lived in the southwest in obscurity by choice. Your tale of her body being found in the river is pure fantasy. Go pedal it elsewhere…. So, K. Is this true? Well my theory albeit sad is that they threw a baby off the bridge and Billie Joe was so scared he committed suicide.
The song does say he in reference to Billie Joe. I do not think it was Emmett Till they threw off the bridge at least not her and Billie. Would anyone have the original seven minute song lyric before it was edited down before the recording? The best female singer i have ever heard.
No one can out do the the soulfullness of this classy lady. Maybe her and elvis are hiding out together,. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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