Subject: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Lesley Bruce Date: 10 Nov 00 - 08:54 AM Can anyone help identify the song that is driving us all mad here with a reference to Talahassie Bridge? Don't know if it's traditional or modern or what it is but if you know you could save several people's sanity. Many thanks, Lesley. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Wesley S Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:04 AM Was that The Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry ?? The Tallachie Bridge? And what the heck did they throw off of it anyway? |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Fibula Mattock Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:11 AM Voting papers ;-) |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: KingBrilliant Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:30 AM That's one of my favourite songs whenever I hear it. Has anyone got the words? I've looked & looked in vain. Would be most grateful. Kris |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Fibula Mattock Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:46 AM aye, it's on cowpie: Ode to Billy Jo |
Subject: Lyr Add: ODE TO BILLIE JOE (Bobbie Gentry) From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 10 Nov 00 - 11:27 AM These lyrics seem to be more complete than the Cowpie version. (dusty Delta day included and Carroll County spelled correctly.) Tallahatchie County as well as Tupelo are in Mississippi. I believe Bobbie Gentry was from Chickasaw County. Also, on this Bobbie Gentry page [http://www.swinginchicks.com/bobbie_gentry.htm] it states that Ode to Billie Joe was originally 7 minutes long and explained more about what was thrown off the bridge. One of my college lit professors pointed out the analogy between repeated references to eating in this song and in Dante's Inferno. He also said that it was a Southern tradition to throw an engagement ring off a bridge when the engagement was broken...all speculation unless somebody has the original song. This song has taken a lot of flack for being one of "the worst songs ever," but the Southern images, dialect and colloquialisms are striking. ODE TO BILLIE JOE
It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
And brother said he recollected when he and Tom and Billie Joe
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Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Ferrara Date: 10 Nov 00 - 11:47 AM Well, Dave Barry included "Big Yellow Taxi" in his list of worst songs ever too. All in your point of view. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: KingBrilliant Date: 10 Nov 00 - 11:49 AM Oh - do people really think its one of the worst songs ever? I don't care, I still love it. Thanks v much for posting the lyrics. Kris |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Fibula Mattock Date: 10 Nov 00 - 12:09 PM Is that the same Tupelo referred to in Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey"? |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 10 Nov 00 - 01:23 PM Fibula, according to this Van Morrison web site, [http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/~hayward/van/van.html] Tupelo Honey has a different meaning. (You may have to click on the T in the glossary. I'm not sure how to link to frames.) Since I was at one time a "home town honey," I thought Tupelo Honey was probably a girlfriend from Tupelo. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: mousethief Date: 10 Nov 00 - 01:40 PM I've always liked "Ode to Billie Joe" but if others don't like it it doesn't kill me. In the context of the song it doesn't make sense for "Tupelo honey" to mean a girlfriend, because he's saying about his girlfriend, "She's as sweet as Tupelo honey," which would seem to imply that he's saying one girlfriend is as sweet as another (which is hardly flattering).
Alex |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Lindsay in guest mode Date: 10 Nov 00 - 01:44 PM Being Kentucky born and bred, as well as a Tennessee squire, (and not mentioning the many years I have lived) I can say that the engagement ring was traditionally tossed into the water. Lindsay
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Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Ferrara Date: 10 Nov 00 - 02:00 PM Tupelo honey is honey from tupelo trees and it's great, and very rich and sweet. IMHO, even though there may be a Southern tradition of throwing the ring in the water when an engagement was broken, that's not the meaning here. (I fell in love with the song first time I heard it, by the way, and never fell out of love with it....) Anyway, the first time I heard it, I felt that the girl in the song had been in love with Billie Joe for years but to him she was just a friend, sort of a kid sister; and that they had just been talking and carelessly tossing grass stalks, sticks, flowers or some such in the water while they stood on the bridge and talked. It gave me an image of a girl for whom every moment with the guy she cares about is precious, even though it isn't the same way with him. For me it seemed like a natural thing to toss bits of something in the water when you're standing and talking on a bridge. And it gave the image of him treating her like one of the guys. And the song so clearly implies that Billie Joe's death is a great blow to her but she hides the fact. So I think she never wanted anyone to know she loved him. I know that's a lot to read into the song, but that's how I've always interpreted it. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,khandu Date: 10 Nov 00 - 02:18 PM The Tallahatchie Bridge was an old iron bridge. It collasped in the 70's. An quick witted old geezer bought the metal from the county, cut it into small pieces and sold them for a buck each as souveniers of the bridge as made popular in the song. The Carroll County picture show did exist for a few years. After the song, the citizens of Carrollton hung a sign on the building: The Carroll County Picture Show of "The Ode to Billie Joe". The movie, directed by Max Baer,Jr.(Jethro Bodine) was filmed in Leflore Co., MS. near Greenwood. IMO it was a lousy flick. And, yes, tupelo honey is a product from the tupelo tree. Sweet and tasty. I liked the song then (1967) and I still do. I can't see it being on a worst song list when you consider the tons of TERRIBLE stuff that has been produced. "DOA" by Bloodrock comes to mind, when I think of worst songs. But, I certain that there is someone out there who likes even THAT! khandu |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Arkie Date: 10 Nov 00 - 06:10 PM One of the attractive things about the song was that it painted a picture but also allowed people to use their imaginations and "mentally fill in details" to the story. It may not be good poetry by academic standards, but, as far as I am concerned, it was a "great" song. If some people "missed" it and failed to see something appealing in it, then its their loss. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Lesley Bruce Date: 11 Nov 00 - 06:53 AM Thanks so much for all the information - we'll all get a decent night's sleep here at last ... Lesley. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Snuffy Date: 11 Nov 00 - 07:12 AM I've always assumed that she was intimate with Billie Joe, had concealed her pregancy from her family, and it was the dead baby they threw off the bridge. And the BJ suffered terrible remorse about killing his child. But I could be wrong. Wassail! V |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Jon Freeman Date: 11 Nov 00 - 07:49 AM I must admit I have always read it the same way as Snuffy but I didn't know of the tradition of the ring. I suppose the ring theory is possible though... Jon (who likes the song whatever was thrown...) |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: IvanB Date: 11 Nov 00 - 02:38 PM I initially opened this thread being absolutely sure it would be lyrics about a parody, with Jeb Bush being the one who jumped off 'Tallahassee' bridge. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Peter T. Date: 11 Nov 00 - 02:45 PM I forget -- were there any other musicians on this song (apart from her)? I always thought it was classic trash, but great, great sound and atmosphere. yours, Peter T. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Gary T Date: 11 Nov 00 - 04:39 PM I recall that when the song came out, Bobbie Gentry said that there was no specific item she had in mind as being thrown off the bridge and listeners were to use their imaginations. In the movie it was a doll (which also acted as an imaginary friend/confidant), the pitching of which apparently signified the heroine's passage out of childhood, emotionally. I thought that was pretty lame. Now I'd love to see the unpublished(?) longer lyrics, as mentioned in Mary in Kentucky's link above. I have a feeling, though, that we'll never really *know* what was thrown off the bridge. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Greyeyes Date: 11 Nov 00 - 05:17 PM I know a lot of people who DON'T like this song, but I've never met anyone who would put it on a list of worst ever songs. Anyone who did you'd have to assume that they'd lived a very sheltered life. I like it, but I have to be in the right mood. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Nathan in Texas Date: 11 Nov 00 - 07:42 PM I remember somewhere, maybe in his autobiography "The Incompleat Folksinger" or maybe in "Sing Out," Pete Singer listed "Ode to Billie Jo" in a timeline on the history of the popularity of folk music. He didn't discuss whether it was a great song, but considered the fact that the "ballad style" song became a hit significant. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Ferrara Date: 11 Nov 00 - 10:00 PM More on what got throwed off that bridge.... In the culture described in the song, it would be flat impossible for the girl to go through nine months of pregnancy without her family and probably the entire town noticing! Similarly, it's awfully unlikely that she and BJ had progressed to the point of him giving her an engagement ring, without them announcing it to the world. To me, it just doesn't fit the time and place.... They might have been secretly engaged, but I just can't picture the ring! Anyway, I never thought that the stuff they were throwing off the bridge had any point in the story, it was just a bit of description to set a mood.... So I believe Bobbie Gentry on that. About the quality or lack of it, to me it is a very well crafted song, using dialogue and description to set a mood, create a mystery (why did he jump), convey emotions, just a great use of poetry and music to tell a story. Well, look, we all remember it after 30-plus years, so it must have something. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: campfire Date: 11 Nov 00 - 10:22 PM Maybe they WERE secretly engaged (papa didn't like him, remember) and she broke the engagement while they were talking on the bridge. They threw the ring in the water. He was so saddened by the breakup that a few days later he jumped off the bridge, too. She has to hide the fact that she cared. And her guilt. campfire, closet romantic
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Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: catspaw49 Date: 11 Nov 00 - 11:06 PM The story of Billie Joe is based in truth but stylized to some degree. It is an old story, dating back to the the late 40's when the only daughter of John Hatch, a Mississippi Klansman of some note, was in love with the first black attorney in the state. Jubilee Simmons was the grandson of slaves and had gone to school at the University of Chicago and returned to his family's home state, taking up residence in Carroll county in 1948. John Hatch's daughter was known to be a bit wild and young Kelli had already incurred her father's wrath on numerous occasions. Kelli was living with two other 22 year old women in the small town of Campton, Mississippi when she met and began dating Simmons. Her father learned of it a few weeks later and came into town drunk with some Klan buddies to hunt down and kill Simmons. Simmons law offices were in the county courthouse and from an open window he could hear the drunken invectives hurled his way from across the square. He slipped out a back door of the courthouse and went to Kelli's house to take her away and save them both from the murderous rancor of her father and his "brethren." Not finding Jubilee in his office the Klansmen split up to search for him and John Hatch went to his daughter's, presumably to beat her or possibly worse. He arrived before the pair had left and headed in the back porch door adjoining the kitchen. Seeing him coming, Simmons grabbed a kitchen knife and jumped atop the counter and then onto the top of the refrigerator that stood by the door. As John Hatch passed, he didn't notice Simmons who then jumped him safely from behind and in the ensuing struggle, Hatch was stabbed with the knife. The lovers bagged his body and threw it off a bridge on their way out of town. They were on their way to Chicago when they were arrested in Clarksville, Tennessee and returned for trial in Mississippi. Jubilee represented both and thanks to the testimony of one of the roommates and Mrs. Hatch who had suffered abuse for years at the hands of her husband, both were acquitted and moved to Chicago where he established a moderately successful practice on the south side. The original song told the story as it was, but owing to legal considerations, the Gentry version was done instead. The original was titled, "The Day that Jubilee the Barrister Jumped Off of Kelli Hatch's Fridge."
Sorry.............. Spaw |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: campfire Date: 11 Nov 00 - 11:15 PM Loved it, Spaw. you had me suckered! campfire |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Jon Freeman Date: 11 Nov 00 - 11:16 PM You are terrible spaw ;-) Jon |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,khandu Date: 11 Nov 00 - 11:18 PM Excellent tale, Spaw. I, being from Carroll County, was ready do do some research to prove you wrong, since I knew the good citzenry of Carroll Co. would have never allowed a black lawyer to have an office in the courthouse.(In the 40's, that is.) I was really wondering where you had acquired this info, and why I had never heard of it. Change my name to khandu the doofus! khandu |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: CarolC Date: 12 Nov 00 - 12:32 AM The song always seemed to have an ominous tone to me which, when contrasted with the seeming normalcy of the family dinner, has always suggested something sinister. I have always thought it was a baby. Carol |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: rangeroger Date: 12 Nov 00 - 01:26 AM grrroooaaan rr |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: mcpiper Date: 12 Nov 00 - 04:47 AM I always thought it was a baby, maybe miscarried. What a wealth of info. these threads are, I will now sleep better having learnt more about a song that has haunted me for years. Thanks. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Crazy Eddie Date: 12 Nov 00 - 10:32 AM Spaw, You have a VERY Twisted mind. I like that! I swallowed that story, hook, line, sinker, & copy of Angling Times. And I don't mind admitting it. But one day.......I'll get ya! |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: catspaw49 Date: 12 Nov 00 - 11:07 AM There's nothing like a few groans of appreciation to buoy the spirit! Glad you liked it and thanks for the "lift." Spaw |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 12 Nov 00 - 11:45 AM I bit too, even though I was suspicious going in! My question - Spaw, did you write that yourself, or have you been waiting 30 years to use that one? |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Ferrara Date: 12 Nov 00 - 12:03 PM Spaw -- ROFLOL. Bill D in the living room wanting to know the cause of this unseemly hilarity. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Ferrara Date: 12 Nov 00 - 12:27 PM (Bill D here)....and since I came in and read 'spaws little jest, I get the joke...neatly done....bu, as far as I know I NEVER actually heard the song!!...I recognize the name, but it IS possible to go for 30 years and totally avoid songs you just know are not your type...*grin*...and that is certainly one! But I always appreciate a bit of Ferdinand Feghoot humor |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: paddymac Date: 12 Nov 00 - 09:05 PM Ya just gotta love the creativity which abounds here. Great job, 'Spaw. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Audi Date: 12 Nov 00 - 09:34 PM "In the culture described in the song, it would be flat impossible for the girl to go through nine months of pregnancy without her family and probably the entire town noticing!"---Ferrara Actually, Ferrara, such a thing happened in my family. My aunt was from a very small southern town and became pregnant due to a date-rape, when 16 yrs old. The date was arranged by her favorite older brother--with a "friend" of his--and she told no one because she knew her brother would kill the perpetrator and then go to the "pen". She delivered 9 mos. later, wearing the same size jeans she wore on the date. It was the fear of discovery in a small town that kept her squeezing into them every day. Needless to say, her parents were very surprised. Her brother was outraged, and would definitely have killed his "friend" had she ever told him the truth. The child was normal--except for the lifelong stigma of being illegitimate in a small southern town. The "Ode to Billie Joe" song speaks to me because it is southern reality at the dinner table--"pass the gravy, ain't it a shame?" When we found out about the baby, it was at dinner, and I recall my parents discussing the event while serving our plates. As to what they threw off the bridge, I always thought it was their future. IMO, the movie was a waste of time and money, and I was offended by it's explanation of why Billie Joe jumped. Audi |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: katlaughing Date: 12 Nov 00 - 11:48 PM I always just assumed it was a baby, miscarried or delivered. I've always loved the way it tells the story, although, almost no one can top Spaw!! That was BRILL, Pat!!! Had me going there! kat |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST Date: 13 Nov 00 - 12:17 AM 'Spaw--You had me mesmerized...and convinced...right up to that truly awe-ful final pun! Thanks...I needed that guffaw tonight! Lin |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: BigDaddy Date: 13 Nov 00 - 12:23 AM Loved the tale, Spaw. I too, however, always thought it was a baby ever since I first heard the song. And I don't think a "third of June" ever passes that that darn song doesn't pop into my head at some point during the day. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: The Walrus at work Date: 13 Nov 00 - 02:17 PM I seem to remember hearing a parody of this song with Teddy Kennedy, Mary-Jo Kopechney (sp?) and Chapaquidick (?) bridge. Does anyone know it? Regards Walrus |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: kendall Date: 13 Nov 00 - 03:17 PM I always hoped it was the person who wrote the song. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: L R Mole Date: 14 Nov 00 - 01:13 PM The "menacing" feel, I think, is a product of the string arrangement, which someome probably knows. I vaguely recal an anecdote about someome being so hypnotised the first time it was on the radio he or she drove into the car in front... Unforgivable, Spaw. I'd steal it myself but I could never remember the setup. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: mousethief Date: 14 Nov 00 - 01:31 PM Nicely done, Spaw. Had me right up to the punchline. I think the baby angle is far-fetched. I'm with the "it doesn't matter" school. Of course it's all a STORY, so if the STORY doesn't say what was thrown off, there is no RIGHT answer. Just what your imagination dreams up. Which is why the song is so mesmerizing after all these years. It sketches a picture, but doesn't fill in all the lines. Which makes it seem MORE real rather than less. Very artful. It's not Shakestoor, but it's a perfectly fine country-pop ballad. And as pointed out, the arrangement is atmospherically perfect.
Alex |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: kendall Date: 14 Nov 00 - 02:16 PM Remember Phil Harris singing The Thing? or was it The Box? ...as I was walking on the beach one bright and sunny day I saw a great big wooden box floating on the bay I hauled it in and opened it up And much to my surprise..I discovered a dum da dum Right before my eyes... |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Bert Date: 14 Nov 00 - 02:19 PM Now you've done it Kendall. None of us will ever be able to hear that song again without thinking of "The Boom-a de Boom" |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: mousethief Date: 14 Nov 00 - 02:23 PM So Kendall, are you saying that what Billie Joe and Bobbie Gentry threw off the bridge was the box that Phil Harris found? Now THAT is an interesting theory!
Alex |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: kendall Date: 14 Nov 00 - 06:24 PM Could be...and the box was big enough to hold the one who wrote that song. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Paddy(1) Date: 14 Nov 00 - 06:35 PM It is important to me not to know what was thrown off the bridge.
I did, therefore, not read this thread.
Paddy(1)
BTW, Catspaw49, you had me going too
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Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,khandu Date: 14 Nov 00 - 07:38 PM Bobbie Gentry had a few other songs of note: "Mississippi Delta" (M-I-double-S-I, etc.) and "Fancy" which was covered quite well by Reba a few years ago. But none have captured the imagination of "Ode to Billie Joe". Is there not someway we can bring suit against Spaw? khandu
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Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST Date: 15 Nov 00 - 08:06 PM 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 |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Ferrara Date: 15 Nov 00 - 08:36 PM It's really me this time. (Still grinning from Spaw's shaggy-fridge story). Audi, I loved what you said, about 'The .. song speaks to me because it is southern reality at the dinner table--"pass the gravy, ain't it a shame?"' Yes, that's it. Your story about your aunt was very moving. And mousethief, I loved what you said, too, about the reasons why the song is still mesmerizing after all these years. Yep. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler Date: 16 Nov 00 - 03:59 AM Wasn't it a ballot box? If global warning predicitons are correct the bridge will soon be under water and the recent little local difficulty will be removed as the state wil cease to exist! RtS |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Murray MacLeod Date: 16 Nov 00 - 07:54 AM Spaw, you had me totally suckered, I hate to admit it. Concealed pregnancy? Not as rare as you would suppose. My first wife was a district midwife and some of the things she told me ........... . I have always believed it was a baby,I mean , how BIG are engagement rings in Mississippi? Like it takes two people to throw one off a bridge? Murray |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: GUEST,The bloke in the corner Date: 16 Nov 00 - 03:22 PM Purely by chance I was looking for 'Ode to Billie Joe' on the Digitrad listing, couldn't find it and decided to look at the threads. Lo and behold, there's one on Tallahachie Bridge! I checked out the words & chords, transposed it to G for my voice and a day or two later there's another song in my ragged repertoire. Is this an example of the Mudcat lucky aura?
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Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Nov 00 - 03:33 PM Well Bloke, ya' do get lucky sometimes. I DO expect you to tell the story of where the song came from though! Its important to understand a song's history. Spaw |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge From: Peter T. Date: 16 Nov 00 - 05:09 PM Try again. Anybody know anything about the music? (Stupid non-music threads......) (joke) yours, Peter T. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge/Tallahatchie Bridge From: GUEST,Clare Date: 19 Oct 08 - 04:06 AM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Billie_Joe |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge/Tallahatchie Bridge From: GUEST Date: 20 Dec 09 - 06:55 PM My great grand parents said that she was dating a mixed black guy. and it looked white...only a few people knew the he was actual black. they knew that their parents wouldn't approved of there relationship. so they keep it a secret.when she got pregnant they threw the baby over the bridge..they word got around about...and then some of the people in the town was going to lynch billie jo...as he was running to get away...they had both sides of the bridge blocked..as they apporached him he jump off the bridge instead of being lynch. |
Subject: RE: Talahassie bridge/Tallahatchie Bridge From: GUEST,CrazyEddie Date: 03 Jun 11 - 05:36 AM Bump! Well, it IS the third of June! And do NOT miss the post of 11 Nov 00, 11.06. |
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