Ode to Billy Joe

Anything to do with the world of music...old or new

Ode to Billy Joe

Postby jon » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:55 am

This question appeared out of nowhere this morning on reelradio.com:

It was 46 years and 21 days ago today (Friday June 3, 1966) that Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge (today’s date is Sunday June 24, 2012).
Assuming that it happened on the 3rd of June, ”another sleepy dusty delta day”. And later in the song Bobby Gentry sings, "a year has come and gone since we heard the news about Billy Joe". So we must assume that the song was written the next year. The song was written and copywrited in 1967 and first hit #1 on the Hot 100 on August 26th and it stayed there for 4 weeks. So this song is about a slice of Americana from June of 1966, except for the fact that it never happened (this was a work of fiction). Still, all in all in was a great tune. Disregarding the cheesy movie, what do you suppose Billy Joe was really throwing off the Tallahatchie Bridge???

It, so far, has received no responses. Although I haven't seen the movie, I've always had my (to me) "obvious" assumption about the answer to that question, but I'll let others have a go at answering it here.
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9256
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby Howaboutthat » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:38 am

jon wrote:It, so far, has received no responses.


Sometimes a song is just a song.
Houston, We're dealing with morons!.
User avatar
Howaboutthat
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 2509
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:28 pm
Location: Vernon

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby jon » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:46 am

True enough. Even John Lennon said "It's poetry. It doesn't have to mean anything." or something to that effect when he was asked about the meaning of the lyrics on one of the more obscure Beatles songs.

:blackeye: Either that, or he was trying to put the censors off his trail.
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9256
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby Big Voice » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:43 am

Howaboutthat wrote:
jon wrote:It, so far, has received no responses.


Sometimes a song is just a song.


Great song. All strings, no drums.
User avatar
Big Voice
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 11:33 pm

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby hagopian » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:53 am

His copy of " Programming Radio" - by Paul Ski?
User avatar
hagopian
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1188
Joined: Wed Jun 17, 2009 2:56 pm

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby isthisthingon » Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:28 pm

the "question that appeared of nowhere", was likely prompted by the 40th anniversary of the Tallahatchie Bridge collapsing --- June 20, 1972.
User avatar
isthisthingon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 222
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:58 pm

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby Firedog » Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:22 pm

The unnamed girl in the song and Billy Joe were probably sweet on each other. Papa obviously didn't like Billy Joe as he thought ole Billy Joe never had a lick of sense. Since the girl may have been afraid to let her father know she was seeing Billy Joe, she would meet him secretly after church on Sunday night. She met Billy Joe at the sawmill to break up with him. They met later in the week at the Chalktaw Bridge to throw their wedding rings into the river. (they were secretly married). Billy Joe, being very depressed, decided to end his life by jumping off the Tellahatchie Bridge. The unnamed girl regretted breaking up with Billy Joe, so she picks flowers up on Chalktaw ridge and drops them into the muddy waters off the Tellahatchie bridge. How am I doing so far...
We are running in, when everybody else is running out.
User avatar
Firedog
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 1:13 pm
Location: North Delta, B.C.

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby Howaboutthat » Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:26 pm

I too, was flummoxed with the 'appeared out of nowhere' comment.

Is there a usual place questions appear from?

Is there a certain order/timeline questions must follow?

I'm also assuming the question came from the land of conspiracy theories - especially the places where they create them even when there is no possible way they could exist. And before I say chemtrails.... Damn!...

(I also think Firedog inhaled too much smoke a few times! ;-) )
Houston, We're dealing with morons!.
User avatar
Howaboutthat
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 2509
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:28 pm
Location: Vernon

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby Anotherwpgguy » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:14 pm

Chemtrails? Did somebody say Chemtrails?

My continuing comments regarding idiots and chemtrails got me banned from PSR. I will forever recall the quote from the owner .... "I'm tired of your bullshit. You are banned."

Almost 40 years in the combination of broadcasting and aviation, and I'm the one that is supposedly ignorant of what's happening in the skies .... zeesh!

I admit, I enjoyed tweaking the nose of bozos who were into "the truth" about jet contrails.

AWG
User avatar
Anotherwpgguy
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 460
Joined: Sun May 24, 2009 8:46 pm
Location: West of Winnipeg

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby hagopian » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:02 pm

AWG - the psycho that runs the other board has a bad case of Me "it-is". Thinks EVERYONE gives two figs about his stupid board and has the gall to say it's the #1 radio board in Canada.

I can say with alacrity - you are in better company here.

Look to bright side. You are among friends.
User avatar
hagopian
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1188
Joined: Wed Jun 17, 2009 2:56 pm

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby Big Voice » Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:57 pm

Firedog wrote:The unnamed girl in the song and Billy Joe were probably sweet on each other. Papa obviously didn't like Billy Joe as he thought ole Billy Joe never had a lick of sense. Since the girl may have been afraid to let her father know she was seeing Billy Joe, she would meet him secretly after church on Sunday night. She met Billy Joe at the sawmill to break up with him. They met later in the week at the Chalktaw Bridge to throw their wedding rings into the river. (they were secretly married). Billy Joe, being very depressed, decided to end his life by jumping off the Tellahatchie Bridge. The unnamed girl regretted breaking up with Billy Joe, so she picks flowers up on Chalktaw ridge and drops them into the muddy waters off the Tellahatchie bridge. How am I doing so far...


Yeah, they were sweet on each other. Papa didn't like him. She and Billy Joe were seeing each other alright, but those hillbillies wouldn't have had enough money to buy wedding rings! Plus, the bridge didn't look high enough to kill someone on the fall so he must have been a non-swimmer.
I'm thinking she gave him a STD but in those days they didn't know how to put that into a song.
User avatar
Big Voice
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 11:33 pm

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby J Kendrick » Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:01 am

Big Voice wrote:I'm thinking she gave him a STD but in those days they didn't know how to put that into a song.


Back in those days, however, they certainly did know how to describe an "STD" with only two letters...
J Kendrick
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 619
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:45 pm
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby jon » Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:58 pm

This thread evoked this response in my e-mail inbox this morning:

Image
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9256
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby slowhand » Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:35 pm

It was a mystery to me when I was young. I've always changed the station over the last 30 years whenever it came on, having come to the conclusion that it was the first Right to Life song.

I assumed that Billy Joe took a crash Obstetrics course by mail order after getting his girlfriend pregnant. His Aha Moment came too late and led to his suicide after realizing what he had done. Too bad as he showed promise as a doctor.
User avatar
slowhand
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 756
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 2:03 pm

Re: Ode to Billy Joe

Postby Mike Cleaver » Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:06 pm

All I can say that as a radio DJ, I hated playing this and Harper Valley PTA.
There was no way you could properly blend them into a rock and roll show.
I've told the Lethbridge Harper Valley PTA story here in a thread before about how we had to edit the song lyric "and Mr. Baker can you tell us why your secretary had to leave this town."
Mr. Baker was a sponsor and he'd been having an affair with his secretary.
But we did play it for four hours straight as a stunt one Saturday night, driving listeners to hate it as much as we did.
Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services
Engineering, News, Voice work and Consulting
Vancouver, BC, Canada

54 years experience at some of Canada's Premier Broadcasting Stations
User avatar
Mike Cleaver
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 2085
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:56 pm
Location: Vancouver


Return to Music Notes

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 73 guests