It was the 3rd of June...

[RonJonSurfer]

Thus begins one of the more mysterious and ominous pop songs of the 60's. Ode to Billie Joe was a number one hit for Bobbie Gentry and is considered one of the 500 greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone. Check out the lyrics, the Wiki and, of course, the song.

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 of apple pie, you know it don't seem right"

"I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge"

"And now you 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 'n' 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 wanna 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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe

[Farin]

Check out the lyrics, the Wiki and, of course, the song.

and the Songfacts of course

[RonJonSurfer]

Of course!!

[Barry Berry]

Man...that takes me back...that HAS to be in my all-time top ten coolest songs ever! (which seems to change from day to day, nowadays)

[cyberjudge]

Then you can nominate it in the Top 10 Songs of the Decade-the 1960's. Nominations are still growing.

[edna]

Great song, RonJon...

I think Kevin nominated it a couple of times for the Top ten...

[Lucky]

A favorite of mine.

[Shawna]

I just saw this thread... reading those lyrics gave me goosebumps! Then of course I had to listen to the youtube... I think this song is a standout for its detail, and I totally get the whole matter-of-fact scenario Bobbie Gentry set up with this. The fact that Billie Joe jumped off the bridge is secondary to the crux of the message here. This has always struck me as one of the best lyrics ever.

[RonJonSurfer]

Next up:

Papa Was a Rolling Stone - Temps

"It was the 3rd of September...."

[_Laurie_]

^^^^ Love that one too!