Why did Billie Joe Mc. Allister jump off the Tallahatchie BridgeClub. In. Hear This, A. V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week songs that tell a story. Bobbie Gentry, Ode To Billie Joe 1. As Ive mentioned before, I am a ginormous fan of the story song, popularized in the 1. One of the genres most popular examples, however, raised more questions than it answered. Bobbie Gentrys biggest hit was Ode To Billie Joe, in which the young narrator tells the storyagainst a backdrop of biscuits and small town Mississippi gossipof how Billie Joe Mc. Watch Billy And Billie Episode 1' title='Watch Billy And Billie Episode 1' />Allister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. It became Billboards No. Ode To Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position. Customer Service Subscribe Buy this issue Billboard biz. The online extension of Billboard Magazine, billboard. Billy the Kid, born Henry McCarty also known as William H. Bonney 1859 July 14, 1881 was an American Old West gunfighter who participated in New Mexicos. Billy Billie DirecTV Series Ends with Unique Finale. In Hear This, A. V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week songs that tell a story. As Ive mentioned before, I am a ginormous fan of the. Watch Billy And Billie Episode 1' title='Watch Billy And Billie Episode 1' />A few things are frustrating about this legendary song, and not just that it leaves lingering questions. Gentry lobs verse after verse our way as the narrator and her family discuss Billie Joes death over a dinner of black eyed peas, with no sign of a chorus or a non Choctaw bridge wed be grateful for a drum solo, for Gods sake. So we are destined to follow along as everyone discusses why Billie Joe jumped, but no one has a straightforward answer. The only clue is that the local pastor saw someone who looked just like the narrator with Billie Joe, tossing something off the bridge. The most likely and saddest theory is that it was a stillborn baby, and Billie Joes guilt over that death leads him to make his fatal dive. In a November 1. 96. Bobbie Gentry said that the question she was most often asked was why Billie jumped. Watch Good Morning America Full Episodes Online. Instantly find any Good Morning America full episode available from all 42 seasons with videos, reviews, news and moreCandice finds her daughter and Billy in bed together and freaks out. Keith has told everyone at work. Billie does not come in Monday, but for Billy who did, the. Several theories also floated around about what he and the narrator threw off the bridge Less tragic options included drugs, flowers, an engagement ring, or a draft card. Instead, she points to other themes in the song, such as the small town community, referenced by the church, the picture show, and the sawmill. Also, the narrators mother falls apart in the final verse after her husband dies, but the narrator is strong enough to go on after Billie Joes death. Which is all well and good, but we still want to know why he jumped off the fucking bridge, making the song, in the end, a giant tease. Only a few of these story songs ever inspired dramatization, like The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia and Harper Valley P. T. A. The movie promised that what the song didnt tell you, the movie will show you, but it took a surprisingly different turn and changed the spelling of Billies name to Billy. When screenwriter Herman Raucher met with Gentry to find out why Billie Joe committed suicide, she admitted she didnt know at all. So the movie recast Billy Joe as a gay teenager in 1. Mississippi. Although he believes himself to be in love with Bobbie Lee the character name a nod to the composer of the song, after he gets drunk at a party one night, he has sex with a man. Robby Benson, king of 1. Jeremy and The Death Of Richie, knew how to effectively convey Billy Joes anguish, alongside his frequent co star Glynnis OConnor, who is our apparent narrator. He rages in despair over what he considers an unnatural act, leading to his suicidal jump. Watch Oddball Online Mic. At the end of the movie, Bobbie Lee throws flowers off the bridge for Billy Joe, just like in the song.