Wow! What a great thread this turned out to be. I learned more about "Ode to Billie Joe" than I could ever have imagined. Thanks for posting the words; I'd never focused on the story so much before. I think it's a fascinating and haunting song. And I'm very relieved to know I'm not the only one who always thought it was a baby. But it's better not to know some things. I did know there was something very weird about Spaw's story but it sure kept me reading and I never saw it coming.

--Cheers, Nancy