According to Bobbie, the story was never about what was thrown off the bridge, it was about everyone's complete disconnect from the fact that this young man took his own life. It's a great song and your reaction was priceless.
Exactly....Gentry said this a long time ago and STILL people think, like some dime store novel, it's about what was thrown off the bridge, and speculate to no end why Billy Jo jumped off the bridge. Even a very bad TV movie was made about this with a made up BS story why he jumped off the bridge to cash in on the song's story, which was never the point of the song. I don't think Bobbi Gentry even approved of the story.
I was eight years old when that song came out. I just fell in love with her after seeing her and hearing her. She actually wrote it too. I remember it knocked "All You Need is Love" off No 1 on the charts. Great song beautiful woman.
I almost envy you getting to hear this song for the first time. I was 12 years old when the song came out (it went to # 1 knocking the Beatles out of the spot). I was fascinated by not just the story, but her sad voice, and the fact that her family was so indifferent while she sat in silence, obviously devastated by the news. Great song!
I kind of felt like the movie took a sharp left into ick though. I HATED the idea that he killed himself over sexuality. I had a major crush on Robby Benson though, so that might have had a little to do with it at the time. 🤭 I prefer the song to the movie interpretation is all I'm getting at. 😉
Yes this is a great song and her delivery just draws you into the story as much as the lyrics do. I think the “unconscious cruelty” of the song is that no one in her family, not even her mother, seemed to have a clue that she had pretty strong feelings for Billy Joe. They talked about the tragedy so nonchalantly over dinner and then went about their day while she was so affected that a year later, she is still tossing flowers in the river in his memory. Great reaction (as usual)!
the cruelty was just that but also how it brings us into the song... her family was no chelaunt about his death.. then we learn they threw "somthing" off the bridge, which pulls us in.. but we never find out what... then 5 minutes after the song ends.. we too forget about the darkness of what was going on.. and went on with our lives... genius song
@@gripp62 Wow,I just seen your comment about Reba and her song Fancy, I did not know that it wasn't her's, omg,I love Reba and the Song,and I love Bobbie Gentry was the Original singer, I'm fixing to check it out. Thank you for that information Sir and I hope you have a blessed day 🙏
The reason she could not eat (like when her mother said she cooked all morning and she hadn't eaten a bite) and tossed flowers off the bridge was because she was in love with him and no one knew.
I remember hearing, and being chilled by, this song as a kid. I'd say it was the first song I ever heard that affected me emotionally. I still remember moment when the meaning, or rather the reveal of the relationship between the narrator and Billie Joe, clicked on the lines, "Mama said to me child, what's happened to your appetite/I've been cooking all morning and you haven't touched a single bite," and I just "got" the song in that instant, that this girl was sitting at the dinner table hearing the news of her lover's death related in an off-hand and casual way and wasn't able to show her emotion to her family.
This happened to me when I was a bit younger maybe 10. I instantly thought how can her parents not care about a person they know that killed himself (I had great parents that I knew would never react that way). You did mail it
I got the feeling a child was involved. It's left to the imaginatiion as to if that is what was thrown from the bridge...hidden pregnancy, miscarriage ??? The father couldn't be that cold do he toom his own life too but the girl could not talk about it. None of them could or would talk about it ❤
Bobbie is still alive and well at 80. She never revealed what they threw off the bridge. It's all speculation. Just the fact that they turned a song into a movie is incredible. Great reaction.
She lives in Tennessee but no longer performs. She was quoted as saying, Nobody wants to see a woman my age perform." I absolutely would love to hear her sing again!
Younger generations were not brought up on storytelling music ( I was 5 when this came out) like us older folks your reaction is a joy to watch. The way you followed the words is so sweet!!
@@doctorfeinstone6524 There is only emptiness in most of the music being made these days, it is like the movies young people watching them keep talking over the scenes because they are not used to being "led" by the dialogue/events on the screen.
Retired music teacher here 😁. sharing that moment with someone who is hearing a musical masterpiece for the first time is always priceless. Keep looking, learning and listening. So many fantastic musical works across countless countries, cultures, genres, not too mention centuries! Enjoy
it is the same, for me, with a beloved classic movie, too. When watching (or listening) with someone whose never seen/heard it before it is almost (almost) as good as seeing/hearing it for the first time yourself.
People miss that it’s two stories, the bigger one is how she encapsulates southern country life at this time. My Grandparents would have sat around the table and had very a similar conversation. Tragedy was common and the “local news” wasn’t on TV, it was parlor talk. PS, I love your knowledge of music, and fact that you can sing any note you hear!
I agree. I'm 71 now, and live in Minnesota. But for much of my life I lived down South (TN, GA, VA) and I grew up on a farm. Back then (when this song was made) most parents would have gone through both the Great Depression AND World War 2. So death was just a part of life. Nobody was happy about it, but nobody got all drama queen over it, either, unless they had a deep personal connection to the one who died. In my opinion, it was a good way to live. This is a great song, highlighting the diverse ways in which people react to death...
Exactly you nailed it; I was a young boy from the South; when this tune was first released. It speaks volumes to art imitating life; so hauntingly beautiful in such an iconic memorably bittersweet way. Bobby Gentry takes ya back; lays ya down then sings your soul like a breeze sent from heaven scented with honeysuckle vine. She Leaves ya longing for no place on earth like the great magnolia state where lunch was called dinner; and not only at the kitchen table but through out the community every ones elders were addressed mam and Sir; spoken with highest regard; O' the feel of a Mississippi morning and hot afternoon; evening shade; then the cool tone of the night sky filled with the sounds of all Gods nocturnal creation beneath those Mississippi stars. And Lord only knows the dreams and wishes that were made by every child born and raised in the South but especially in Mississippi beneath her bright Magnolia stars. Philippians 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
I'm from Carroll County but live 100 miles away now and drove all the way to Greenwood last year to see the 3rd of June remembrance of this song. I was hoping to see and hear Bobbie, but I heard blues music instead.
@@frankethomas1248 Yes. I agree. This would have been the same for my family in my parents and grandparents years of growing up in the hills of TN. Life was very rough for them. A hard life creates hard people. Everyone lived with tragedies every day. Not a lot of energy to get upset over all of them. Does not mean that they did not care. They sure did, but they had to accept it, pick each other up and keep going.
One of the greatest mysteries in song ever - what did they throw off the bridge and why did he jump to his death. Bobbie liked to write songs that really made the listener struggle with their thoughts and feelings about hard situations in life. Another example of this is the song Fancy, which she also wrote, and that Reba McIntyre made famous.
@@susanoakley7322 In fact, Bobbie recorded a version of it on the album that was also titled Fancy. Even though it's the same song, it sounds very different than Reba's version.
I've always thought it could have been their secret child that had died and the father couldn't deal with the death and so jumped of the bridge in grief......such a sad and atmospheric piece of music
It doesn't matter what they threw off the bridge.What matters is Billy Joe was her boyfriend and her family are not sensitive enough to understand she is hurting.Don't be like her family.
Fun fact, the song "Fancy" that you reacted to by Reba McEntire, was written and first recorded by Bobby Gentry. Makes sense when you consider her philosophy background.
This song is a classic and your reaction is priceless, Britt! I've been a fan of Bobbie and especially this song for many years. Thanks for sharing this!
The music was cut off at the end, the strings finish their descent and land on a long open fifth chord. Bobbi's writing and performance was so brilliant in summer of 1967 she had the entire country sitting around their own dinner tables talking about her song. I was 11 at the time. Your reaction was one of the most brilliant, intelligent I have seen...you figured out early on the song was not really about Billy Jo committing suicide as it was, as Bobbi explained and was ignored by so many out there, the unconscious cruelty of reaction to that suicide, the small town gossip BS, which today we have nonstop 24/7 false narratives and BS on the media that they call news. Bobbi fooled them all, leaving them all hanging on the mystery in the song and watching them all BECOME that same family at the dinner table all over the country, gossiping away...like uncaring fools in the story 😂. People wanted to pigeon hole her as a country singer but she was really a musically educated folk singer. Human beings tend to categorize musicians into a one genre act for their own comfort. Linda Ronstadt was another one they tried to do that to...she pushed back and did it all...check her story out, she snag it all, country, rock, jazz, Hispanic, light opera ...with plenty of Grammys to shove in the face of people who told her not to do what she did including producers.
Nobody has ever said what you feel about this performance, lyrics, presentation, and talent like I feel, like you have just now. Amazing. You see it and LOVED YOUR REACTION! KEEP DOIN WHAT YOU DO!!!!@❤
I think you're the first reactor who has mentioned that 'tumbling' sound that the strings make at the end of the song. I love the orchestration, her guitar playing and the fact that she hits those low notes and it all seems so effortless. I believe she was self taught which makes her even more amazing.
This song is an absolute classic. There was a time when everybody in North America knew that Billie Joe McCallister jumped off the Tallahatchee Bridge and were obsessed with figuring out why. You simply could not turn on the radio without hearing Bobby Gentry's haunting tale. After all these years, I still love it.
@@angelabluebird609 The movie had to provide an answer and this is what was chosen; as I understand it, Miss Gentry never intended there to be a definitive answer as it wasn't the point of her song.
I always thought that she was sweet on Billie Joe and that they were throwing flowers from the bridge. The haunting part was that the family or others did not take seriously the struggles of youth or of mental illness.
I have always loved her body language when she talks about them putting a frog down her back... Bobbie was a tremendous talent... when she left show business, we lost something special.
Interesting fact, There were originally about 11 verses or so that she wrote and sang on the recording, which by the way was just a guitar demo that she did and the record label thought it was so good they just added an acoustic stand up bass and the string section you hear. They edited the song down to playable length for radio and released it and it became a huge hit) The remaining verses that were cut out and which as far as I know, have never been published publicly are reportedly stored away in a vault in the Mississippi State Archives. This live performance is a jewel! Oh, and the actual bridge which you see in the video was burned by vandals and later collapsed into the river in 1972
This is REAL talent, not today's manufactured flavour-of-the-month diva...masked by a team of industry hype, songwriters, dance choreography, costumes, botox, smoke & mirrors, etc.. This song was a #1️⃣ smash hit, written, sung & played by Bobbie, during the Summer of Love, 1967...topping the Beatles Sgt. Pepper & the trendy psychedelia of the day. An absolute testement to the power of a great song & performance...haunting, Southern Gothic, delivered by the real deal‼️ 🇨🇦
In 1976 this song inspired a movie about what happened to Billy Joe. The movie unsurprisingly named Ode to Billy Joe starred Robby Benson as the movie's name sake
Ah... I loved / hated that song growing up. I had a .45 of it, and played it constantly on rotation on those hot, rainy days. When I found this video, I could still sing along, even though I hadn't heard it in years and years!! It IS a brilliant story song, a slice of life in a small town that captures a tragedy from so many angles. A true classic. Thanks!!
Every time I heard this song my mind built another story to go along with her wonderful voice and lyrics. I lived as a child in a backwoods so they were always sad stories of struggle.
this song was absolutely HUGE in '67. it was one of the earlier country songs to ever be played on any rock stations - it crossed all lines. i was 14 and to say i loved bobby would be an understatement. every guy i knew was head over heels and a lot of girls too !
I always thought of this song every time I drove over the Tallahatchie river between Memphis and Oxford Mississippi while delivering airport luggage to ole Miss
I really enjoy your reactions and you have an a great voice yourself!!!!. There was a movie in the 70's called Ode to Billy Joe with Robbie Benson in it, it was a very good movie.
Be careful bringing up the movie. I mentioned it once in another reaction to this and some guy crawled up my a*s about how the movie had nothing to do with the song and he apparently was in her mind when she wrote it and there for negotiations when the movie was made. The guy was nuts and completely loses it about the movie.
@@shannonbennett987 I remember seeing the movie way back in the 70s, it was a great movie as I remember & everybody talked about how good it was. Nevermind the nuts, they're everywhere as we all know, there's one in every crowd 👍✌️
As I was searching for this movie, I see that it was directed by Max Baer Jr. If you're very old you might know him as Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies. Just putting that tidbit out there for no good reason, other than I thought it was interesting.
The part with mama talking about the preacher. The timing of the pause that Bobbie does just before the line “oh, by the way….”is just perfection. Just like most of the song that is a scene of normal conversation/activities at a dinner table, the pause seems so natural but also just pulls the listener in. And the listener can feel the song narrater’s anxiety or even panic anticipating what the mother is going to say(knows) next. At least that is how I see it . Also myself having southern roots(also Mississippi) my mind picturing the dinner actually at midday as is often the case in south, not evening.
I am on boatd with the meal at the table was a mid day meal, southern speak they had three meals breakfast dinner and supper which are sometimes referred alsewhete as breakfast lunch and dinner, so it being set in the south I'd agree on only that point, but there is another reason. Then farming was done only in daytime hours, the father, not to discount Billy Joe's passing, changes topic to one that he saw as more important and pressing, and spoke of having 5 more acres to plow, as in, something he was more concerned with doing that afternoon, once the currently talked over dinner/lunch meal was done. So, I think you nailed the timing on this being a mid day meal dinner, rather than evening meal else she would have had it convey it to be 5 acres to plow tomorrow. work for the following day or tomorrow and Bobbis writing would have referred to the mid day meal as dinner, not lunch just by its setting being in the southern states. Where dinner was 2nd meal and Supper was the evening and final meal of ones day. Dinner elsewhere some times gets exchanged with what southerners call supper. So, considering the setting the times and conversation concerning what the father said I agree it wad an afternoon lunch break dinner they were conversing over. Now that we have that question answered, Answer me this, what did they throw off the talahatchee bridge before Billy Joe decided to jump off it?
I was born and raised in Greenwood, MS in 1964 where Bobbie Gentry spent some part of her life and in which she mentions the Delta of Mississippi and the Yazoo River and the Tallahatchie River. The Yazoo River literally split the North part of Greenwood from the center of town and the South part of Greenwood. The Tallahatchie River ran north of Greenwood towards a small village that historically was just a couple of shops to service the cotton plantations and the workers and cotton pickers in that area,. The village was named Money, MS. The Tallahatchie Bridge crossed the river just behind the village. That's the bridge mentioned in "Ode To Billie Joe". Now...there are more than one Tallahatchie Bridge in that area. A few miles north of Money, MS is a larger village called Glendora, MS. They too have a Tallahatchie Bridge that crosses the Tallahatchie River running through Glendora. And Glendora MS was founded in the 1800's as a sawmill town and logs cut there were floated down the river to another town called Webb. And all that land in the Delta at one time was the homeland of the Choctaw Native American Nation. Now...there is no "Choctaw Ridge" in that area as mentioned in "Ode To Bille Joe". But there were sawmills in Glendora and that land was once Choctaw land. And both Money, MS and Glendora, MS both have a Tallahatchie Bridge. And both Money and Glendora have something else. They have Emmet Till's memory. For in 1955 at Bryant's Grocery in Money, MS with the Tallahatchie Bridge crossing the river just behind the store, Emmet Till supposedly whistled at the wife of the owner of Bryant's Grocery and set in motion his brutal torture and murder at the hands of the store owner and others in his lynch mob. Later, it has been surmised, that after Till's murder his body was dumped in the Tallahatchie River north of Money, MS in Glendora for it was found just a mile or so down river from the town. Just down river from the now abandoned Black Bayou Bridge which some called the Tallahatchie Bridge because that part of the river was originally called Black Bayou west of town but east of town it's known as the Tallahatchie River.... in Glendora....the sawmill town....on what was once Choctaw land. Now when you listen to "Ode To Billie Joe" as she mentions the "Tallahatchie Bridge" and the "sawmill" on "Choctaw" Ridge and the complete indifference of the fictional family members to Billie Joe's suicide....there could be a much darker subtext on top of the text of the lyrics supposedly about the tragic suicide of a teenage boy in the Delta of Mississippi.
Fantastic historical picture of the setting for this song. By the way, Billy Joe never died. She and Billy threw "something" into the river to get the heat off him. Then he left the area. She was, at the least, close to Billy, if not in love with him. Wonder if they met again, later. Just conjecture, but...
I’ve always thought there was a ‘truth’ to this song. Where someone died in the river. As far as I know she never said so. And it makes sense she wouldn’t want to say it was based on a black man’s murder because maybe she would put herself in danger. I did see an interview where she said that the fact that they were eating Sunday dinner and callously talking about someone’s death was the point of the song. I imagine there were many dinners like that in the vietname war era.
Ok, so I guess It's a song about fictional characters and the then they made a Movie "Ode to Billie Joe". Am I correct? Is there any truth in the story? Beautiful song and a great movie. Really sorta romanticizes the deep south
@@davehoward9045I have read somewhere long ago that she had Emmett Till's murder on her mind but that she wanted the song to be more vague and universal in terms of people's apathy. Part of the way she did this was to bring in a lot of MS landmarks and names into the song that didn't necessarily exist or exist in that location. For instance, there is no Choctaw Ridge in the Delta and nor near Money, MS where the Tallahatchie Bridge is located. However, in the north east part of Mississippi there is a Choctaw Ridge that's pretty much just rural forests. It also just so happens to be located just a few miles south of where Bobbie Gentry was born in Woodland, MS. Also the Carroll County picture show where the song's narrator mentions that her brother, some other kid names Tom and Billie Joe put a frog down the back of her dress. Well...Carroll County is no where near Money, MS or the Tallahatchie Bridge. It's several miles east of Greenwood, MS, my birthplace, and Money is several miles north of Greenwood. I think Bobbie Gentry just needed the correct number of syllables in the lyric at that point to match the beat and the swing of the song. Billie Joe is a myth and a symbol and Bobbie Gentry is in a sense a bit Homeric in the way she weaves this myth with the mentioning of actual places and landmarks in MS but not necessarily in a correct geographical manner. Even going so far as to mention Tupelo, MS where her brother and his wife bought a store and moved to after the death of the narrator's father from some mystery virus. Tupelo....birthplace of....Elvis. This is a gothic Mississippi Greek tragedy all wrapped up in 4 minutes and 15 seconds. She is the GOAT.
@@Karaoke-ny3pcCompletely fictional but as I mentioned to another poster below, it's sort of a Greek tragedy but in a gothic Delta Mississippi style and subject matter. Bobbie Gentry weaves a Mississippi travelogue into the song with various place names she either lived in or was influential to her. So, she was born in Woodland, MS in eastern MS. Just south of where she was born was a place called Choctaw Ridge. But this is not the Choctaw Ridge that she keeps mentioning in the song with the saw mill near the Tallahatchie Bridge, the one the fictional character Bobbie Joe jumps off and commits suicide. In fact, there is no Choctaw Ridge in the Delta and I know because I lived there in Greenwood and worked those cotton fields and crossed that Tallahatchie Bridge numerous times in Money, MS. Also, the Carroll County picture show where her brother, his friend and Bobbie Joe put a frog down the back of the song's narrator is no where near the Tallahatchie Bridge. It's probably a 35 minute or more drive to Carrollton, MS. Now, Bobbie Gentry did grow up in Greenwood where I was born and the Tallahatchie Bridge at Money, MS was right up the road to the north but she moved away from there when she was around 13. Interesting note....if it is true that Bobbie Joe left the Delta at the age of 13 and she was born in July of 1942 that means she very well could have still been in that area when Emmitt Till was lynched in August of 1955 near Money, MS. And the Tallahatchie Bridge is still right behind the store in which Emmitt was accused of whistling and talking back to the white owner's wife which precipitated his lynching. Another interesting note....Bobbie Gentry mentions that the narrator's brother and wife moved away and bought a store in Tupleo, MS. I have to believe this wasn't a coincidence either. For Bobbie Gentry was a huge fan of Elvis who was born in Tupelo, even going so far as performing Elvis in drag in Las Vegas when she had a residency there at one of the casinos. I mean, the scarves, the flair bottom pants, the windmill arms, the karate moves. It was so good that Elvis got wind of it and came and saw one of her shows. They had a lifelong friendship afterwards. Elvis even introduced her on stage at the end of his 1973 tour.
I meant to include this but forgot. As a little girl, I remember when "Ode To Billie Joe" was played on the car radio...ALL OF THE TIME! Being from Mississippi myself, we naturally thought the song was the best thing EVER written! I am originally from New Albany which is about 20 miles North of Tupelo. Tupelo is where ELVIS was born and raised. By the way, New Albany is the birthplace of William Faulkner, the award winning author! Getting back to "Ode To Billie Joe". The Talahatchie River runs through New Albany, but it is small. It gets much larger the farther south that you go. There are many theories about what was thrown into the river! Many people believe that it was a baby. However, one theory, in particular, says that Billie Joe was gay and jumped to his death from shame! You must remember, this was a very different time! Also one theory implies that he jumped in after a rag doll that he had thrown in. In order to throw away his shame after his father, who was physically abusive raped him, he held on to the rag doll to have something to hold on to physically! Then he threw away the doll so that he could literally throw away his shame and mental anguish! A movie was made about the song. Robbie Benson starred in it, but I cannot remember much else about it! Please delve into the rabbit hole of Bobby Gentry's life! Several books have been written about her and the song "Ode To Billie Joe". You will be so glad that you did! I have to tell you, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR ENTHUSIASM!!! Please continue to react to as many songs as possible! You have a huge talent for it and are very inciteful! I have to say that you are my favorite reactionist!!! Thank you so much for this one! I loved it!
I remember when the song came out and it still hasn't ended for me. I'm still wondering what it all meant. I've heard plenty of speculation but none that really seem to fit. Great reaction, Britt!
my Grand father loved his country music and EVERYONE in my family knows the lyrics to this song.. the whole family all came together for christmas every year (32 family members) and this song got played day and night and from Boys to the girls we all sang along word for word❤❤❤
I was listening to Ode To Billie Joe; one of my favorite songs of all time. You touched me with your reaction...it's something else, isn't it? The virus part GOT to me in 2020!!
This song was made into a movie starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor in 1976 called Ode To Billy Joe (slight spelling change). I remembered hearing the song on the radio, but seeing it made into a movie made quite an impression on me. If you're interested, please watch the movie. It's stayed with me all these years.
Bobbie and I were from the same little town in Chickasaw County. So the 3rd of June. It starts out on Facebook, someone will post….. It was the 3rd June..,,,, then someone else….. will ……,,on a sleepy dusty day….,,, it will go on til we finish the song. And she is the one that wrote Fancy, yea the one Reba sings. Proud for her
Bobbies are the kewlest ladies. We had a dog called Bobbie, full name Roberta good girl. She had blonde hair. She was a Norfolk Terrier. A leggy sassy blonde. Great tune
My aunt Jenny is Bobbie gentry's doppelganger...yep my mothers sister..very beautiful..just a little extra i wanted to throw or there. I used to listen to this song so loud back then...❤
Awesome song, sad song. Every time i listen to the song, a feeling of sadness overwhelms me. It is a song that really makes me think. My feelings come to the forefront. Robby Benson played the main character in the movie.
When I was Viet Nam, we had a studio where you could copy tapes. We had quite a selection of music, but none from Ms Gentry. I wrote to her, never expecting a response. She sent hee latest album which included this song and an autographed picture. Remember, during this time Viet Nam was very unpopular in the US. She won my admiration.
Its amazing & beautiful seeing the magic, emotions & power of this tune/story reach across time to touch your soul & heart. Even if you're not aware of it.... Its now a part of you. And your life is blessed and enriched because of it. Countless tunes of that era and through the 70's are that way. This modern era NEEDS the music from then, more than most could imagine.....
My perspective of the song in conjunction with the movie is that it’s about A loss of innocence and unrequited love. ❤😢Thank you young lady. Well done.😊
This is the single most perfectly crafted song ever written or performed. Each note, each phrase, was designed to evoke an emotion. It is both beautiful and at the same time painful to listen to when you consider the depth of despair that these people have accepted as their normal. Each time you listen you find some to y thing you didn't notice the last time. Nothing about this song is accidental. Bobby Gentry was a literal genious .
It was actually more common to have Sunday morning services which consisted of Sunday School followed by the main service. Then Sunday night service with several hymns followed by a sermon. All day services were usually reseved for more special occasions.
Listen to that marvelous muted sound her little Martin 5-18 is putting out ... really adds to her vision of the stoic, tough and often lonely life on a family farm in the deep south.
The great power of the song is that the story remains unresolved. Notice how life goes on and the family is so damned tired from plowing and chopping cotton to survive, and so hungry that they have little time for speculation. The girl s the key to what happened. Notice how the song ends with her whole family being devastated. Sibling moved, Father dead, Mother never mentally rigt again. Did some other Farm family discuss what happened to Becky's over thier dinner? It's a Sothen Gothic as it gets, and Gentry's delivery will never, ever grow old.
I remember when this song came out back in the sixties, and I tried to sing it but my little Voice couldn't accomplish every note. But growing up in a musical household, I paid attention to my parents comments and discussions about the song. I would love to sing this song in harmony with my mother. It blesses me when people of today get to hear this kind of music for the first time, and knowing I was there when this song first came out is a blessing to me.
According to Bobbie, the story was never about what was thrown off the bridge, it was about everyone's complete disconnect from the fact that this young man took his own life. It's a great song and your reaction was priceless.
Exactly....Gentry said this a long time ago and STILL people think, like some dime store novel, it's about what was thrown off the bridge, and speculate to no end why Billy Jo jumped off the bridge. Even a very bad TV movie was made about this with a made up BS story why he jumped off the bridge to cash in on the song's story, which was never the point of the song. I don't think Bobbi Gentry even approved of the story.
What was being thrown of the Tallahatchee Bridge was a Macguffin.
They made a movie about it.
@@mikecavaretta2621 Is that you Alfred Hitchcock?
I remember it was made into a tv movie with some dark exploration of why Billy jumped.
That music absolutely sounds like a Mississippi summer feels.
I was eight years old when that song came out. I just fell in love with her after seeing her and hearing her. She actually wrote it too. I remember it knocked "All You Need is Love" off No 1 on the charts. Great song beautiful woman.
I almost envy you getting to hear this song for the first time. I was 12 years old when the song came out (it went to # 1 knocking the Beatles out of the spot). I was fascinated by not just the story, but her sad voice, and the fact that her family was so indifferent while she sat in silence, obviously devastated by the news. Great song!
Thank you - love your "analysis".. so many people cannot get beyond literal interpretations..
The way she sings this song, it makes me feel that I'm at the dinner table and listening to the conversation.
Yesss
Fantastic reaction.. You got it all babe!... Now go find and watch the movie. "ode to Billy Joe"... 😉
I kind of felt like the movie took a sharp left into ick though. I HATED the idea that he killed himself over sexuality. I had a major crush on Robby Benson though, so that might have had a little to do with it at the time. 🤭 I prefer the song to the movie interpretation is all I'm getting at. 😉
Yes! The movie is a classic.
Exactly❤
Yes this is a great song and her delivery just draws you into the story as much as the lyrics do. I think the “unconscious cruelty” of the song is that no one in her family, not even her mother, seemed to have a clue that she had pretty strong feelings for Billy Joe. They talked about the tragedy so nonchalantly over dinner and then went about their day while she was so affected that a year later, she is still tossing flowers in the river in his memory. Great reaction (as usual)!
This is exactly it. Such a timeless, powerful song, and still so relevant... Callousness...
the cruelty was just that but also how it brings us into the song... her family was no chelaunt about his death.. then we learn they threw "somthing" off the bridge, which pulls us in.. but we never find out what... then 5 minutes after the song ends.. we too forget about the darkness of what was going on.. and went on with our lives... genius song
If you like Reba McEntire's song "Fancy", the original was done by Bobbie Gentry!
@@gripp62 Wow,I just seen your comment about Reba and her song Fancy, I did not know that it wasn't her's, omg,I love Reba and the Song,and I love Bobbie Gentry was the Original singer, I'm fixing to check it out. Thank you for that information Sir and I hope you have a blessed day 🙏
You should watch the movie gives more to the story. Is Mitch more involved than most people get from the song
The reason she could not eat (like when her mother said she cooked all morning and she hadn't eaten a bite) and tossed flowers off the bridge was because she was in love with him and no one knew.
IMO, Billie Joe and the singer had a secret and the singer knows why he jumped off the bridge.
You have to listen to her other son Fancy. Reba remade that song. I wish Bobbie was still singing
WTF, she ate two pieces of apple pie.
She was impregnated by him they threw the fetus off the bridge or baby
I remember hearing, and being chilled by, this song as a kid. I'd say it was the first song I ever heard that affected me emotionally. I still remember moment when the meaning, or rather the reveal of the relationship between the narrator and Billie Joe, clicked on the lines, "Mama said to me child, what's happened to your appetite/I've been cooking all morning and you haven't touched a single bite," and I just "got" the song in that instant, that this girl was sitting at the dinner table hearing the news of her lover's death related in an off-hand and casual way and wasn't able to show her emotion to her family.
You nailed it
Same! Except i was about 7 at the time.
This happened to me when I was a bit younger maybe 10. I instantly thought how can her parents not care about a person they know that killed himself (I had great parents that I knew would never react that way). You did mail it
I got the feeling a child was involved. It's left to the imaginatiion as to if that is what was thrown from the bridge...hidden pregnancy, miscarriage ??? The father couldn't be that cold do he toom his own life too but the girl could not talk about it. None of them could or would talk about it ❤
Y E S !!!!!!!!!!
Our music back then had a lot of life.
Bobbie is still alive and well at 80. She never revealed what they threw off the bridge. It's all speculation. Just the fact that they turned a song into a movie is incredible. Great reaction.
I saw This Movie in 1976 at a Drive inn in Whittier California i was 21 years old at the time
@@alohabobbylaguna1702But Bobbie didn’t have anything to do with the movie.
She lives in Tennessee but no longer performs. She was quoted as saying, Nobody wants to see a woman my age perform." I absolutely would love to hear her sing again!
Younger generations were not brought up on storytelling music ( I was 5 when this came out) like us older folks your reaction is a joy to watch. The way you followed the words is so sweet!!
Yes. They most definitely were. You have to know their music to know what it contains
@@doctorfeinstone6524 There is only emptiness in most of the music being made these days, it is like the movies young people watching them keep talking over the scenes because they are not used to being "led" by the dialogue/events on the screen.
@@isabelsilva62023 i believe you nailed it Isabel
Retired music teacher here 😁. sharing that moment with someone who is hearing a musical masterpiece for the first time is always priceless.
Keep looking, learning and listening. So many fantastic musical works across countless countries, cultures, genres, not too mention centuries!
Enjoy
it is the same, for me, with a beloved classic movie, too. When watching (or listening) with someone whose never seen/heard it before it is almost (almost) as good as seeing/hearing it for the first time yourself.
People miss that it’s two stories, the bigger one is how she encapsulates southern country life at this time. My Grandparents would have sat around the table and had very a similar conversation. Tragedy was common and the “local news” wasn’t on TV, it was parlor talk. PS, I love your knowledge of music, and fact that you can sing any note you hear!
I agree. I'm 71 now, and live in Minnesota. But for much of my life I lived down South (TN, GA, VA) and I grew up on a farm. Back then (when this song was made) most parents would have gone through both the Great Depression AND World War 2. So death was just a part of life. Nobody was happy about it, but nobody got all drama queen over it, either, unless they had a deep personal connection to the one who died. In my opinion, it was a good way to live. This is a great song, highlighting the diverse ways in which people react to death...
I grew up in poverty in the south, and I heard that, also. You are too tired trying to survive to get too excited about another tragedy.
Exactly you nailed it; I was a young boy from the South; when this tune was first released.
It speaks volumes to art imitating life; so hauntingly beautiful in such an iconic memorably bittersweet way.
Bobby Gentry takes ya back; lays ya down then sings your soul like a breeze sent from heaven scented with honeysuckle vine. She Leaves ya longing for no place on earth like the great magnolia state where lunch was called dinner; and not only at the kitchen table but through out the community every ones elders were addressed mam and Sir; spoken with highest regard; O' the feel of a Mississippi morning and hot afternoon; evening shade; then the cool tone of the night sky filled with the sounds of all Gods nocturnal creation beneath those Mississippi stars.
And Lord only knows the dreams and wishes that were made by every child born and raised in the South
but especially in Mississippi beneath her bright Magnolia stars.
Philippians 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
I'm from Carroll County but live 100 miles away now and drove all the way to Greenwood last year to see the 3rd of June remembrance of this song. I was hoping to see and hear Bobbie, but I heard blues music instead.
@@frankethomas1248 Yes. I agree. This would have been the same for my family in my parents and grandparents years of growing up in the hills of TN. Life was very rough for them. A hard life creates hard people. Everyone lived with tragedies every day. Not a lot of energy to get upset over all of them. Does not mean that they did not care. They sure did, but they had to accept it, pick each other up and keep going.
Billy Joe Mattered... I took that message from the song... All people matter, until people decide they don't... Be Safe and Love One Another
One of the greatest mysteries in song ever - what did they throw off the bridge and why did he jump to his death. Bobbie liked to write songs that really made the listener struggle with their thoughts and feelings about hard situations in life. Another example of this is the song Fancy, which she also wrote, and that Reba McIntyre made famous.
I had no idea. I thought Reba wrote that.
@@susanoakley7322 In fact, Bobbie recorded a version of it on the album that was also titled Fancy. Even though it's the same song, it sounds very different than Reba's version.
I've always thought it could have been their secret child that had died and the father couldn't deal with the death and so jumped of the bridge in grief......such a sad and atmospheric piece of music
Watch the movie. It's based on a true story.
It doesn't matter what they threw off the bridge.What matters is Billy Joe was her boyfriend and her family are not sensitive enough to understand she is hurting.Don't be like her family.
Great reaction to one of the most unusual number-one hit records of all time. Fantastic performance by Bobbie.
one of my favorite songs of all time. what a great voice she had!
She paints such an amazing picture. This song is a classic.
Fun fact, the song "Fancy" that you reacted to by Reba McEntire, was written and first recorded by Bobby Gentry. Makes sense when you consider her philosophy background.
Reba was quoted as saying once that she owes a large chunk of her career to this woman and she never even got her one the phone once to thank her.
What??? I had no idea that this song was not Reba's but now I can hear Bobbie Gentry in the lyrics (now that I know she is there) mind blown!🤯🙃😊
All of us that grew up with Bobbie's original version of "Fancy" never thought that Reba's was even close.
This song will rip your heart out. A devastating loss and an indifferent dinner time discussion.
This song is a classic and your reaction is priceless, Britt! I've been a fan of Bobbie and especially this song for many years. Thanks for sharing this!
I remember when this came out. My mother would walk around the house singing along with the radio. My dad lives in Chickasaw county MS.
The music was cut off at the end, the strings finish their descent and land on a long open fifth chord. Bobbi's writing and performance was so brilliant in summer of 1967 she had the entire country sitting around their own dinner tables talking about her song. I was 11 at the time. Your reaction was one of the most brilliant, intelligent I have seen...you figured out early on the song was not really about Billy Jo committing suicide as it was, as Bobbi explained and was ignored by so many out there, the unconscious cruelty of reaction to that suicide, the small town gossip BS, which today we have nonstop 24/7 false narratives and BS on the media that they call news. Bobbi fooled them all, leaving them all hanging on the mystery in the song and watching them all BECOME that same family at the dinner table all over the country, gossiping away...like uncaring fools in the story 😂. People wanted to pigeon hole her as a country singer but she was really a musically educated folk singer. Human beings tend to categorize musicians into a one genre act for their own comfort. Linda Ronstadt was another one they tried to do that to...she pushed back and did it all...check her story out, she snag it all, country, rock, jazz, Hispanic, light opera ...with plenty of Grammys to shove in the face of people who told her not to do what she did including producers.
Absolutely love your Reaction and Awe of the older classics and the Skill of the Singers!!Your Terrific
Nobody has ever said what you feel about this performance, lyrics, presentation, and talent like I feel, like you have just now. Amazing. You see it and LOVED YOUR REACTION! KEEP DOIN WHAT YOU DO!!!!@❤
I’m enjoying your reaction to this beautiful song. May I say that you are also a beautiful young lady yourself.
In the sixties we all ate around the table like a family and talk just like this brings back good memories all six kids and Mom and Daddy around table
The song was so good they made a movie about it. That girl was ahead of her time.
I think you're the first reactor who has mentioned that 'tumbling' sound that the strings make at the end of the song. I love the orchestration, her guitar playing and the fact that she hits those low notes and it all seems so effortless. I believe she was self taught which makes her even more amazing.
She was self taught but did study music in college too
I’m so glad that your liking this song as much as I have all these years. They also made a movie about this.
This song is an absolute classic. There was a time when everybody in North America knew that Billie Joe McCallister jumped off the Tallahatchee Bridge and were obsessed with figuring out why. You simply could not turn on the radio without hearing Bobby Gentry's haunting tale. After all these years, I still love it.
Billy Joe was a dude. Billie is a girl's name, he was Billy. You got the Joe part right, a girl would be Jo.
Actually, the why is in the movie: Gentry helped make the film. A man plied Billy Joe with alcohol and assaulted him.
In the movie he isn't afraid of the man. The religious nonsense of "god doesn't approve" is what tortured the character.
@@angelabluebird609 The movie had to provide an answer and this is what was chosen; as I understand it, Miss Gentry never intended there to be a definitive answer as it wasn't the point of her song.
I heard Billy Joe was gay and at that time, it wasn't accepted so he ended it all 😢
I recall when it came out, not only her amazing voice, but her stunning good looks. I was somewhat younger, but wished I looked like her.
I love this song....and seeing her do it in person really takes it to another level, IMO.
I always thought that she was sweet on Billie Joe and that they were throwing flowers from the bridge. The haunting part was that the family or others did not take seriously the struggles of youth or of mental illness.
Harry Chapin, Simon and Garfunkle, Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton. So many greats in the 60s, 70's!!
This song and the movie has brought me to tears for years. You have to see the movie
I have always loved her body language when she talks about them putting a frog down her back... Bobbie was a tremendous talent... when she left show business, we lost something special.
She was also business savvy. She was one of the original owners of the Phoenix Suns.
Interesting fact, There were originally about 11 verses or so that she wrote and sang on the recording, which by the way was just a guitar demo that she did and the record label thought it was so good they just added an acoustic stand up bass and the string section you hear. They edited the song down to playable length for radio and released it and it became a huge hit) The remaining verses that were cut out and which as far as I know, have never been published publicly are reportedly stored away in a vault in the Mississippi State Archives. This live performance is a jewel! Oh, and the actual bridge which you see in the video was burned by vandals and later collapsed into the river in 1972
This is REAL talent, not today's manufactured flavour-of-the-month diva...masked by a team of industry hype, songwriters, dance choreography, costumes, botox, smoke & mirrors, etc..
This song was a #1️⃣ smash hit, written, sung & played by Bobbie, during the Summer of Love, 1967...topping the Beatles Sgt. Pepper & the trendy psychedelia of the day. An absolute testement to the power of a great song & performance...haunting, Southern Gothic, delivered by the real deal‼️
🇨🇦
In 1976 this song inspired a movie about what happened to Billy Joe. The movie unsurprisingly named Ode to Billy Joe starred Robby Benson as the movie's name sake
This is what I grew up on with my Moms music. Dad was a rocker, Motown, folk etc. we loved It all.
Ah... I loved / hated that song growing up. I had a .45 of it, and played it constantly on rotation on those hot, rainy days. When I found this video, I could still sing along, even though I hadn't heard it in years and years!! It IS a brilliant story song, a slice of life in a small town that captures a tragedy from so many angles. A true classic. Thanks!!
Every time I heard this song my mind built another story to go along with her wonderful voice and lyrics. I lived as a child in a backwoods so they were always sad stories of struggle.
this song was absolutely HUGE in '67. it was one of the earlier country songs to ever be played on any rock stations - it crossed all lines. i was 14 and to say i loved bobby would be an understatement. every guy i knew was head over heels and a lot of girls too !
I always thought of this song every time I drove over the Tallahatchie river between Memphis and Oxford Mississippi while delivering airport luggage to ole Miss
One of the great things about this song is that it gives you the broad outline of a story and leaves it to your imagination to fill in the details.
True, when she wrote the song she doesn’t tell you why Billie Joe commits suicide but in the movie it is revealed why he makes this decision.
They made a movie about this song, because it was a huge hit, and was so mysterious. Love it.
I really enjoy your reactions and you have an a great voice yourself!!!!. There was a movie in the 70's called Ode to Billy Joe with Robbie Benson in it, it was a very good movie.
It was a good movie
It was a good movie but hard to find these days (at least for me) because of the subject matter and how Billy Joe dealt with it.
Be careful bringing up the movie. I mentioned it once in another reaction to this and some guy crawled up my a*s about how the movie had nothing to do with the song and he apparently was in her mind when she wrote it and there for negotiations when the movie was made. The guy was nuts and completely loses it about the movie.
@@shannonbennett987 I remember seeing the movie way back in the 70s, it was a great movie as I remember & everybody talked about how good it was. Nevermind the nuts, they're everywhere as we all know, there's one in every crowd 👍✌️
As I was searching for this movie, I see that it was directed by Max Baer Jr. If you're very old you might know him as Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies. Just putting that tidbit out there for no good reason, other than I thought it was interesting.
This song never gets old, sounds better every time you hear it.
The part with mama talking about the preacher. The timing of the pause that Bobbie does just before the line “oh, by the way….”is just perfection. Just like most of the song that is a scene of normal conversation/activities at a dinner table, the pause seems so natural but also just pulls the listener in. And the listener can feel the song narrater’s anxiety or even panic anticipating what the mother is going to say(knows) next. At least that is how I see it . Also myself having southern roots(also Mississippi) my mind picturing the dinner actually at midday as is often the case in south, not evening.
I am on boatd with the meal at the table was a mid day meal, southern speak they had three meals breakfast dinner and supper which are sometimes referred alsewhete as breakfast lunch and dinner, so it being set in the south I'd agree on only that point, but there is another reason. Then farming was done only in daytime hours,
the father, not to discount Billy Joe's passing, changes topic to one that he saw as more important and pressing, and spoke of having 5 more acres to plow, as in, something he was more concerned with doing that afternoon, once the currently talked over dinner/lunch meal was done.
So, I think you nailed the timing on this being a mid day meal dinner, rather than evening meal else she would have had it convey it to be 5 acres to plow tomorrow. work for the following day or tomorrow and
Bobbis writing would have referred to the mid day meal as dinner, not lunch just by its setting being in the southern states. Where dinner was 2nd meal and Supper was the evening and final meal of ones day. Dinner elsewhere some times gets exchanged with what southerners call supper. So, considering the setting the times and conversation concerning what the father said I agree it wad an afternoon lunch break dinner they were conversing over. Now that we have that question answered, Answer me this, what did they throw off the talahatchee bridge before Billy Joe decided to jump off it?
I’m glad you appreciate her. I love her too🥰
I was born and raised in Greenwood, MS in 1964 where Bobbie Gentry spent some part of her life and in which she mentions the Delta of Mississippi and the Yazoo River and the Tallahatchie River. The Yazoo River literally split the North part of Greenwood from the center of town and the South part of Greenwood. The Tallahatchie River ran north of Greenwood towards a small village that historically was just a couple of shops to service the cotton plantations and the workers and cotton pickers in that area,. The village was named Money, MS. The Tallahatchie Bridge crossed the river just behind the village. That's the bridge mentioned in "Ode To Billie Joe".
Now...there are more than one Tallahatchie Bridge in that area. A few miles north of Money, MS is a larger village called Glendora, MS. They too have a Tallahatchie Bridge that crosses the Tallahatchie River running through Glendora. And Glendora MS was founded in the 1800's as a sawmill town and logs cut there were floated down the river to another town called Webb. And all that land in the Delta at one time was the homeland of the Choctaw Native American Nation.
Now...there is no "Choctaw Ridge" in that area as mentioned in "Ode To Bille Joe". But there were sawmills in Glendora and that land was once Choctaw land. And both Money, MS and Glendora, MS both have a Tallahatchie Bridge.
And both Money and Glendora have something else. They have Emmet Till's memory. For in 1955 at Bryant's Grocery in Money, MS with the Tallahatchie Bridge crossing the river just behind the store, Emmet Till supposedly whistled at the wife of the owner of Bryant's Grocery and set in motion his brutal torture and murder at the hands of the store owner and others in his lynch mob. Later, it has been surmised, that after Till's murder his body was dumped in the Tallahatchie River north of Money, MS in Glendora for it was found just a mile or so down river from the town. Just down river from the now abandoned Black Bayou Bridge which some called the Tallahatchie Bridge because that part of the river was originally called Black Bayou west of town but east of town it's known as the Tallahatchie River.... in Glendora....the sawmill town....on what was once Choctaw land.
Now when you listen to "Ode To Billie Joe" as she mentions the "Tallahatchie Bridge" and the "sawmill" on "Choctaw" Ridge and the complete indifference of the fictional family members to Billie Joe's suicide....there could be a much darker subtext on top of the text of the lyrics supposedly about the tragic suicide of a teenage boy in the Delta of Mississippi.
Fantastic historical picture of the setting for this song. By the way, Billy Joe never died. She and Billy threw "something" into the river to get the heat off him. Then he left the area. She was, at the least, close to Billy, if not in love with him. Wonder if they met again, later. Just conjecture, but...
I’ve always thought there was a ‘truth’ to this song. Where someone died in the river. As far as I know she never said so. And it makes sense she wouldn’t want to say it was based on a black man’s murder because maybe she would put herself in danger.
I did see an interview where she said that the fact that they were eating Sunday dinner and callously talking about someone’s death was the point of the song. I imagine there were many dinners like that in the vietname war era.
Ok, so I guess It's a song about fictional characters and the then they made a Movie "Ode to Billie Joe". Am I correct? Is there any truth in the story? Beautiful song and a great movie. Really sorta romanticizes the deep south
@@davehoward9045I have read somewhere long ago that she had Emmett Till's murder on her mind but that she wanted the song to be more vague and universal in terms of people's apathy. Part of the way she did this was to bring in a lot of MS landmarks and names into the song that didn't necessarily exist or exist in that location. For instance, there is no Choctaw Ridge in the Delta and nor near Money, MS where the Tallahatchie Bridge is located. However, in the north east part of Mississippi there is a Choctaw Ridge that's pretty much just rural forests. It also just so happens to be located just a few miles south of where Bobbie Gentry was born in Woodland, MS. Also the Carroll County picture show where the song's narrator mentions that her brother, some other kid names Tom and Billie Joe put a frog down the back of her dress. Well...Carroll County is no where near Money, MS or the Tallahatchie Bridge. It's several miles east of Greenwood, MS, my birthplace, and Money is several miles north of Greenwood. I think Bobbie Gentry just needed the correct number of syllables in the lyric at that point to match the beat and the swing of the song. Billie Joe is a myth and a symbol and Bobbie Gentry is in a sense a bit Homeric in the way she weaves this myth with the mentioning of actual places and landmarks in MS but not necessarily in a correct geographical manner. Even going so far as to mention Tupelo, MS where her brother and his wife bought a store and moved to after the death of the narrator's father from some mystery virus. Tupelo....birthplace of....Elvis. This is a gothic Mississippi Greek tragedy all wrapped up in 4 minutes and 15 seconds. She is the GOAT.
@@Karaoke-ny3pcCompletely fictional but as I mentioned to another poster below, it's sort of a Greek tragedy but in a gothic Delta Mississippi style and subject matter. Bobbie Gentry weaves a Mississippi travelogue into the song with various place names she either lived in or was influential to her. So, she was born in Woodland, MS in eastern MS. Just south of where she was born was a place called Choctaw Ridge. But this is not the Choctaw Ridge that she keeps mentioning in the song with the saw mill near the Tallahatchie Bridge, the one the fictional character Bobbie Joe jumps off and commits suicide. In fact, there is no Choctaw Ridge in the Delta and I know because I lived there in Greenwood and worked those cotton fields and crossed that Tallahatchie Bridge numerous times in Money, MS. Also, the Carroll County picture show where her brother, his friend and Bobbie Joe put a frog down the back of the song's narrator is no where near the Tallahatchie Bridge. It's probably a 35 minute or more drive to Carrollton, MS. Now, Bobbie Gentry did grow up in Greenwood where I was born and the Tallahatchie Bridge at Money, MS was right up the road to the north but she moved away from there when she was around 13. Interesting note....if it is true that Bobbie Joe left the Delta at the age of 13 and she was born in July of 1942 that means she very well could have still been in that area when Emmitt Till was lynched in August of 1955 near Money, MS. And the Tallahatchie Bridge is still right behind the store in which Emmitt was accused of whistling and talking back to the white owner's wife which precipitated his lynching. Another interesting note....Bobbie Gentry mentions that the narrator's brother and wife moved away and bought a store in Tupleo, MS. I have to believe this wasn't a coincidence either. For Bobbie Gentry was a huge fan of Elvis who was born in Tupelo, even going so far as performing Elvis in drag in Las Vegas when she had a residency there at one of the casinos. I mean, the scarves, the flair bottom pants, the windmill arms, the karate moves. It was so good that Elvis got wind of it and came and saw one of her shows. They had a lifelong friendship afterwards. Elvis even introduced her on stage at the end of his 1973 tour.
I love your comments! I grew up with BG's music. She was a visionary, a woman ahead of her time.
I am so pleased that you did the research .You are the first reactor that I have seen who actually knew something about the subject. Thank you!
I meant to include this but forgot. As a little girl, I remember when "Ode To Billie Joe" was played on the car radio...ALL OF THE TIME! Being from Mississippi myself, we naturally thought the song was the best thing EVER written! I am originally from New Albany which is about 20 miles North of Tupelo. Tupelo is where ELVIS was born and raised. By the way, New Albany is the birthplace of William Faulkner, the award winning author! Getting back to "Ode To Billie Joe". The Talahatchie River runs through New Albany, but it is small. It gets much larger the farther south that you go. There are many theories about what was thrown into the river! Many people believe that it was a baby. However, one theory, in particular, says that Billie Joe was gay and jumped to his death from shame! You must remember, this was a very different time! Also one theory implies that he jumped in after a rag doll that he had thrown in. In order to throw away his shame after his father, who was physically abusive raped him, he held on to the rag doll to have something to hold on to physically! Then he threw away the doll so that he could literally throw away his shame and mental anguish! A movie was made about the song. Robbie Benson starred in it, but I cannot remember much else about it! Please delve into the rabbit hole of Bobby Gentry's life! Several books have been written about her and the song "Ode To Billie Joe". You will be so glad that you did! I have to tell you, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR ENTHUSIASM!!! Please continue to react to as many songs as possible! You have a huge talent for it and are very inciteful! I have to say that you are my favorite reactionist!!! Thank you so much for this one! I loved it!
60s folk rock music nothing like it since then. Love it.
I remember when the song came out and it still hasn't ended for me. I'm still wondering what it all meant. I've heard plenty of speculation but none that really seem to fit. Great reaction, Britt!
There is a movie, bout this heart felt song. It's called, 'ode to Billy Joe." A true tear jerker.
my Grand father loved his country music and EVERYONE in my family knows the lyrics to this song.. the whole family all came together for christmas every year (32 family members) and this song got played day and night and from Boys to the girls we all sang along word for word❤❤❤
Master piece. Period.
I was listening to Ode To Billie Joe; one of my favorite songs of all time. You touched me with your reaction...it's something else, isn't it? The virus part GOT to me in 2020!!
Bobbie Gentry has led an incredible life. If you can find a biography on her it is worth a watch.
This song was made into a movie starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor in 1976 called Ode To Billy Joe (slight spelling change). I remembered hearing the song on the radio, but seeing it made into a movie made quite an impression on me. If you're interested, please watch the movie. It's stayed with me all these years.
Girl you know conversations go on like this every night at our supper table. About the town folk, gossip…..and the days events and plans for tomorrow
Ode to billie joe! Loved your take on it even though your young? I had a crush on Bobbie Gentry when i was a kid!!
Bobbie and I were from the same little town in Chickasaw County. So the 3rd of June. It starts out on Facebook, someone will post….. It was the 3rd June..,,,, then someone else….. will ……,,on a sleepy dusty day….,,, it will go on til we finish the song. And she is the one that wrote Fancy, yea the one Reba sings. Proud for her
Bobbies are the kewlest ladies. We had a dog called Bobbie, full name Roberta good girl. She had blonde hair. She was a Norfolk Terrier. A leggy sassy blonde. Great tune
My aunt Jenny is Bobbie gentry's doppelganger...yep my mothers sister..very beautiful..just a little extra i wanted to throw or there. I used to listen to this song so loud back then...❤
Greart song , if they could only do songs today with this much heart. one of my favorite reactions
I just discovered this channel - I love this lady. Beautiful for sure, but her personality is warming, funny, and kind lol.
You are so beautiful, so smart, so intelligent and i love your take on these old tunes my dear😉🙂
OMG YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE HER! GREAT SONG!!! IT'S AN ODE TO HER FRIEND!! BOBBY GENTRY SHE WAS GORGEOUS 🥰🥰
Awesome song, sad song. Every time i listen to the song, a feeling of sadness overwhelms me. It is a song that really makes me think. My feelings come to the forefront.
Robby Benson played the main character in the movie.
That song is so soulful and haunting!
Lovely reaction Britt! This was a mystery song for sure when it came out, especially to us here in the country!
I love your reactions to begin with but this one here. Fantastic.
As a Mississippian every local radio station plays this June 3rd…most all day. ❤️🎶
The strings on this song are so haunting...............
The song is a classic and soulful. So much so that they made a movie of it in 1976 starry Robbie Benson and Glynnis O'Conner.
It was a movie, based on a book. Both named "Ode to Billy Joe."
What they threw off the bridge was important.
When I was Viet Nam, we had a studio where you could copy tapes. We had quite a selection of music, but none from Ms Gentry. I wrote to her, never expecting a response. She sent hee latest album which included this song and an autographed picture. Remember, during this time Viet Nam was very unpopular in the US. She won my admiration.
I know am late to this vid, but as a person who appreciates beauty, art, form and function your hair is at this moment in time is perfection.
This song still gives me chills each time I hear it. Thanks for your reaction.
When I first heard this song a while back, it scared the bejeepers out of me, but now I can't stop listening...not sure what changed.
One of the best ballads ever. Every young man in the late 60s grew up in love with Bobbie Gentry.
Its amazing & beautiful seeing the magic, emotions & power of this tune/story reach across time to touch your soul & heart. Even if you're not aware of it.... Its now a part of you. And your life is blessed and enriched because of it. Countless tunes of that era and through the 70's are that way. This modern era NEEDS the music from then, more than most could imagine.....
Your reaction to this song is priceless. Music brings us all closer. It's haunting, beautiful.
Electric cello , or stand up fiddle. Incredible.
My perspective of the song in conjunction with the movie is that it’s about A loss of innocence and unrequited love. ❤😢Thank you young lady. Well done.😊
When we were kids we argued about really happened up there. For months!
This is the single most perfectly crafted song ever written or performed. Each note, each phrase, was designed to evoke an emotion. It is both beautiful and at the same time painful to listen to when you consider the depth of despair that these people have accepted as their normal. Each time you listen you find some to y thing you didn't notice the last time. Nothing about this song is accidental. Bobby Gentry was a literal genious .
“And biscuits…yum!” 🤣❤️
She was also the first to sing Fancy that was covered by Reba
It was actually more common to have Sunday morning services which consisted of Sunday School followed by the main service. Then Sunday night service with several hymns followed by a sermon.
All day services were usually reseved for more special occasions.
She puts you right there, Mississippi Delta . Yes, papa was hard workin and had no time foolishness. It's an elegant, sorrowful time capsule.
Listen to that marvelous muted sound her little Martin 5-18 is putting out ... really adds to her vision of the stoic, tough and often lonely life on a family farm in the deep south.
One of my favorites!
The great power of the song is that the story remains unresolved. Notice how life goes on and the family is so damned tired from plowing and chopping cotton to survive, and so hungry that they have little time for speculation. The girl s the key to what happened. Notice how the song ends with her whole family being devastated. Sibling moved, Father dead, Mother never mentally rigt again. Did some other Farm family discuss what happened to Becky's over thier dinner? It's a Sothen Gothic as it gets, and Gentry's delivery will never, ever grow old.
I remember when this song came out back in the sixties, and I tried to sing it but my little Voice couldn't accomplish every note. But growing up in a musical household, I paid attention to my parents comments and discussions about the song. I would love to sing this song in harmony with my mother. It blesses me when people of today get to hear this kind of music for the first time, and knowing I was there when this song first came out is a blessing to me.