Ode To Billy Joe by jmjiloveyou

jmjiloveyou - Ode To Billy Joe

jmjiloveyou

Oct 19, 2024 08:52am

"Ode to Billie Joe" is a song by American singer-songwriter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbie_Gentry" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bobbie Gentry</a> released by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Records" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Capitol Records</a> in July 1967, and later used as the title-track of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(album)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">her debut album</a>. Five weeks after its release, the song topped <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_(magazine)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Billboard's</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop singles chart</a>. It also appeared in the top 10 of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Contemporary_(chart)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Adult Contemporary</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hot R&B singles</a> charts, and in the top 20 of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Country_Songs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hot Country Songs</a> list.The song takes the form of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_narrative" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first-person narrative</a> performed over sparse <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_guitar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">acoustic guitar</a> accompaniment with strings in the background. It tells of a rural Mississippi family's reaction to the news of the suicide of Billie Joe McAllister, a local boy to whom the daughter (and narrator) is connected. The song received widespread attention, leaving its audience intrigued as to what the narrator and Billie Joe threw off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Gentry later clarified that she intended the song to portray the family's indifference to the suicide in what she deemed "a study in unconscious cruelty," while she remarked the object thrown was not relevant to the message.<h3>"Ode to Billie Joe" was nominated for eight <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Awards" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Grammy Awards</a>; Gentry and arranger <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Haskell" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jimmie Haskell</a> won three between them. Gentry's writing was adapted for the 1976 film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billy_Joe_(film)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ode to Billy Joe</a>. The song appeared on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rolling Stone</a>'s lists, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone%27s_500_Greatest_Songs_of_All_Time" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">500 Greatest Songs of All Time</a> and Greatest Country Songs, while <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchfork_(website)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pitchfork</a> featured it on their 200 Best Songs of the 1960s list. In 2023, the song was selected by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a> for preservation in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Recording_Registry" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Recording Registry</a>.</h3><h3>Gentry's comments on the lyrics</h3><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BobbieGentryBridge1967.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7f/BobbieGentryBridge1967.jpg/170px-BobbieGentryBridge1967.jpg" alt="Photograph of Bobbie Gentry crossing the Tallahatchie Bridge in Money, Mississippi" height="185" width="170"></a>In this photograph from the November 10, 1967 issue of Life magazine, Gentry crosses the Tallahatchie Bridge in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money,_Mississippi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Money, Mississippi</a>In August 1967, Gentry told the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times</a> she wanted to show "people's lack of ability" to empathize with others' "tragedy." She pointed out the mother, who noticed but did not understand her daughter's lack of appetite, while later the daughter is unaware of the similarity of her mother's behavior after the father dies. Gentry explained that both characters had "isolated themselves in their own personal tragedies" and remained unconcerned for the others. The songwriter compared the end product to a play. On the object thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge, she commented that the audience had found more meanings than she had intended. Gentry mentioned that theories of the time included a baby, a wedding ring and flowers. While she indicated that what happened at the bridge was the motivation behind Billie Joe's suicide, she also left it open to the listener's interpretation. Gentry said she had no answer and her sole motivation was to show "people's apathy".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(song)#cite_note-FOOTNOTEFeather,_Leonard1967C_13-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[10]</a><h2>In an interview with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Associated Press</a> in November 1967, Gentry called the song "a study in unconscious cruelty."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(song)#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAssociated_Press_staff19671_(TV_section)-23" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[23]</a> She also said that audiences were still asking her what was thrown off the bridge rather than noticing "the thoughtlessness of people expressed in the song," adding that what had been thrown was unimportant.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(song)#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAssociated_Press_staff19671_(TV_section)-23" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[23]</a> She said people suggested to her it was a draft card, or a bottle of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LSD</a> pills. The songwriter clarified that she knew what it was, but said she considered it irrelevant to the story and deliberately left that interpretation open. Gentry remarked that the song's message revolved around the "nonchalant way" the family discussed the suicide. She also said that what was thrown off of the bridge was included because it established a relationship between Billie Joe and the daughter, providing "a possible motivation for his suicide the next day".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(song)#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAssociated_Press_staff_219674_(TV_section)-24" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[24]</a> The interview ended with Gentry's suggestion that it could have been a wedding ring.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(song)#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAssociated_Press_staff_219674_(TV_section)-24" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[24]</a> Gentry told <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> in 1969: "I had my own idea what it was while I was writing it, but it's not that important. Actually it was something symbolic. But I've never told anyone what it was, not even my own dear mother."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(song)#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKlemesrud,_Judy196932_D-25" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[25]</a></h2>