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A math guy's random thoughts. |
| Bobbie Gentry's 1967 release of "Ode to Billie Joe" took just five weeks to top the Billboard 100's pop chart. The lyrics are a first person narrative, almost cinematic in character, about family sharing a meal. It's not the meal that make the narrative so memorable, but rather the emotional subtext--or lack thereof--to the conversation. The song is a paean to the cruelty of indifference. The lyrics recount the casual conversation the vocalist's family has over dinner. In the course of the conversation, they mention that an acquaintance, Billie Joe McAllister, committed suicide by jumping off the Tallahatchie bridge. The mother mentions that their pastor saw him the day before, with someone who looks like the singer, throwing something off the bridge. The song's first person narrative continues, with none of the family showing any empathy for Billie Joe, or for each other. Indeed, while the mother notices the singer doesn't finish her meal, she doesn't care enough to wonder why. When the lyrics recount events from a year later, after the death of the father, the singer also seems indifferent to her mother's grief, so the cruel indifference goes both ways, reinforcing the song's theme. Part of the song's ongoing appeal is the mystery of exactly what was thrown off that bridge, and what it had to do with Billie Joe's suicide. Gentry said she had something in mind when she wrote the lyrics, but has consistently refused to reveal what it was, saying it was unimportant to the song itself. Her purpose was rather to establish a connection between Billie Joe, the song's narrator, and the suicide, a connection that the other family members didn't bother to pursue. That both fits with and reinforces the song's purpose and theme. I remember thinking what was thrown off the bridge must have been the remains of a covert abortion, although equally plausible explanations are a wedding ring or drugs. Later, the song was made into a movie that provided its own explanation, but in my view it's more powerful to leave it open. Certainly, the family's lack of curiosity about why he committed suicide and about the the possible connection to someone sitting at the table reinforce the theme of the song. Answering the question would change the focus to the reason, not the indifference. The lyrics are cinematic, but they also are the perfect frame for a short story. They inspired this one, set in Oklahoma instead of Missippi:
Here's Gentry singing the song in a 1967 performance on the Smothers Brothers TV show. That was my first encounter with this song, and I still remember this haunting performance and staging. |
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