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100 Songs That Have Moved Me | Song #015: "Ode to Billie Joe" (1967)
Title: "Ode to Billie Joe"
Artist: Bobbie Gentry
Composer: Bobbie Gentry
Producer: Kelly Gordon
Release Date: July 1967
Peak Chart Position: #1 (Hot 100)
Album: Ode to Billie Joe (1967)
Rolling Stone metadata:
Words from the artist:
How this song moves me:
This song was a mainstay on the oldies station when I was a kid. I've always been drawn to this song, even though I do not particularly care for country music. To me, it represents exactly what it is to grow up in the South - the culture, the heat, the importance of food and gathering together over a meal, the role/power of local religious leaders. The casual way that the family gossips about this boy's apparent suicide is quite typical in the way that events are processed within the family and the larger community. Nobody wants to talk frankly about dark or controversial subjects - and this is reflected in the many, many interpretations and analyses offered of the lyrics.
The other thing I like about this song is that Bobbie Gentry was not being deliberately obtuse or coy. When asked, she has never offered an explanation, even straight up saying, "I have no idea why he jumped." This is the way great stories are built, in my experience - we see things, hear things, piece together events and conversations and sometimes we, as the writers, don't even know where the muse is taking us, or why. Great ideas are just like that, I suppose =)
This song resonated with a generation when it was released, so obviously there's something for everyone to take from it - and as artists, that's exactly what we want: for our work to leave an impression on the audience.
Artist: Bobbie Gentry
Composer: Bobbie Gentry
Producer: Kelly Gordon
Release Date: July 1967
Peak Chart Position: #1 (Hot 100)
Album: Ode to Billie Joe (1967)
Rolling Stone metadata:
Rank: #419
Blurb: Once and for all: Exactly what did Billie Joe throw off the Tallahatchee Bridge? Gentry never revealed the secret of this spooky country blues. "The real message," she said, "revolves around the way the nonchalant family talks about the suicide." (Source)
Words from the artist:
Speculation ran rampant after the song hit the airwaves, and Gentry said in a November 1967 interview that it was the question most asked of her by everyone she met. She named flowers, a ring, a draft card, a bottle of LSD pills, and an aborted baby as the most often guessed items. Although she knew definitely what the item was, she would not reveal it, saying only "Suppose it was a wedding ring." "It's in there for two reasons," she said. "First, it locks up a definite relationship between Billie Joe and the girl telling the story, the girl at the table. Second, the fact that Billie Joe was seen throwing something off the bridge – no matter what it was – provides a possible motivation as to why he jumped off the bridge the next day."
When Herman Raucher met Gentry in preparation for writing a novel and screenplay based on the song, she confessed that she had no idea why Billie Joe killed himself. Gentry has, however, commented on the song, saying that its real theme was indifference: “Those questions are of secondary importance in my mind. The story of Billie Joe has two more interesting underlying themes. First, the illustration of a group of peoples' reactions to the life and death of Billie Joe, and its subsequent effect on their lives, is made. Second, the obvious gap between the girl and her mother is shown when both women experience a common loss (first Billie Joe, and later, Papa), and yet Mama and the girl are unable to recognize their mutual loss or share their grief.” (Source)
How this song moves me:
This song was a mainstay on the oldies station when I was a kid. I've always been drawn to this song, even though I do not particularly care for country music. To me, it represents exactly what it is to grow up in the South - the culture, the heat, the importance of food and gathering together over a meal, the role/power of local religious leaders. The casual way that the family gossips about this boy's apparent suicide is quite typical in the way that events are processed within the family and the larger community. Nobody wants to talk frankly about dark or controversial subjects - and this is reflected in the many, many interpretations and analyses offered of the lyrics.
The other thing I like about this song is that Bobbie Gentry was not being deliberately obtuse or coy. When asked, she has never offered an explanation, even straight up saying, "I have no idea why he jumped." This is the way great stories are built, in my experience - we see things, hear things, piece together events and conversations and sometimes we, as the writers, don't even know where the muse is taking us, or why. Great ideas are just like that, I suppose =)
This song resonated with a generation when it was released, so obviously there's something for everyone to take from it - and as artists, that's exactly what we want: for our work to leave an impression on the audience.