First Time Reaction | Bobbie Gentry - Ode To Billy Joe | Reaction

#reaction #reactions #reactionvideo #bobbiegentry #odetobillyjoe #funny #best
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[@Code9]

This is a master class in songwriting. She tells an entire captivating story in the space of about 3 and half minutes (if you don't count her opening monolog). In the end you feel like you've just read a complete novel and now you can't wait for the sequel. To make that work in the short space of 3 minutes means that every single word has to count. Not a single word in this song is a "throw-away" that was inserted just to fill up a space. And that's just the writing, not even to mention her vocal phrasing is impeccable.

[@ktrsBklyn]

So well-said.

[@cherivanhoover9663]

Southern Gothic just refers to stories about "dark" themes. Secrets, death, corruption, decay, complicated relationships. All the things that make for a great story.

[@richp6366]

Good description. Think "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"

[@deannacauley166]

I believe one time she said the point of that song was how people could be so casual and nonchalant about tragedy

[@naudianeels1328]

Ok. Mind blown 💯

[@jenniferyorgan4215]

Bobbi Gentry's voice is smokey and bluesy like Dusti Springfield

[@donniewheat2606]

I'm 70 years old, live in the south and have never heard the term "Southern Goth" till today.

[@TheDivayenta]

Southern Gothic is a writing genre. Eudora Welty was a prime example.

[@kathleencreamer6648]

It's a real thing. Carol Joyce Oates being a modern example as well.

[@Yowza78]

And Flannery O'Connor.

[@Yowza78]

And Carson McCullers. And Truman Capote. And Harper Lee. Carmac McCarthy. Thomas Wolfe. William Faulkner.

[@MsMarple]

Never heard of it either, but this is one of this Northern Girl’s favorite songs of all time. Guess I’m a bit Southern and Gothic after all! 😊 And Son of a Preacher Man was also a FAV - and so I married one! 😅

[@dagmar.6954]

Bobby Gentry is an American singer-songwriter who was one of the first female artists to compose & produce her own material. A lot of her songs were stories. Her biggest hit was in 1967 with "Ode To Billy Joe". Other hits she wrote & recorded were "Mississippi Delta" & "Fancy". She also had hits with "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Sunday Mornin" (with Glen Campbell) etc.

[@Cashcrop54]

Quite a list of accomplishments I'd say.

[@DQ_Forever]

Some of my favorites of my youth! Singing in the car with my sisters, radio on!

[@sourisvoleur4854]

The conversation in the song is so natural. No inversions or weird words or anything -- all super natural just like you might expect people to talk like around the dinner table.

[@Cashcrop54]

Such a great song. Her guitar playing was excellent. It was a picking that needed to be rock solid and had to be consistent for the song to progress as it was meant to be. When it came out I remember a lot of people discussing what it was Al, about. That's what a great song does. Excellent reaction!

[@ktrsBklyn]

Such a haunting song and perfect performance.

[@flutesong5527]

The contrast between the casual offhand conversation and the tragedy of the boy's suicide is brilliant and the point of the song. She was and probably still is beautiful, talented and amazing. Yes she was the girlfriend. And it was brother that asked for the pie. I loved that movie at the time, I had a crush on Robby Benson. Sigh, such a long time ago. LOL Yes! We do want to know what it was.

[@larryboodry1]

My crush was on Glynnis O'Connor...And in the movie, the item Billy Joe accidentally throws off the bridge is Bobbie Lee's rag doll, Benjamin, which really was irrelevant to why he later jumped.

[@kimn9802]

One word...Masterpiece.

[@earlymorningtwilight9119]

loved this song when I was a child. Such a great storyteller.

[@richardcramer1604]

The brother was still talking and asked for another piece of apple pie, where as the girl lost her appetite and hadn't touched her meal at all.

[@SomeoneHasToSayIt2525]

Laser precision vocal technique. She is the human auto-tune, no tech tricks needed. Add soul, beauty and brutal honesty and you have Bobbie Gentry. Simply superb.

[@joymoore1904]

She didn’t have the apple pie. Her brother did. What most reactors don’t get in this song is that she is relaying what everyone else around the table is saying. At least until the very end. Changes the whole reaction to the song when you understand that.

[@DeborahBlaylock-er3fl]

She was one of those who chose to write based on being able to tell a story. As simple as it may be in his wording their words that nobody would ever forget. She and Dolly Parton both came out in the exact same year

[@dennisheins257]

I was a kid when this came out. Part of the magic of this song is the mystery. People were mad for this song. Everyone was asking the same questions you've been asking. Welcome to 1969.

[@EricRussell-ud8sg]

Her final public performance was in 1981 on a TV special and the last public appearance was in 1982 at the Country Music Awards. It is rumored that she lives in a gated community in either Los Angeles County or Memphis. She was married to casino mogul William F. Harrah in 1969 when she was 27 and he was 58 but it only lasted for three months. She then married singer-songwriter Jim Stafford, but it ended in 1979 after only eleven months in which she gave birth to a son. Hope this will give you a little more background on her. Another song you should check out is her live performance of Fancy.

[@Rosiepooh75]

She's only a few years older than Dolly, but Dolly started her career very early, so in terms of being successful, they started around the same time. She lives in a gated community near Memphis Tennessee. She's alive and 81 y/o. If you google "recent photo of Bobbie Gentry", you'll get photos from 2014 ❤

[@williamthelast1]

Dolly Parton RIP, was a big cow !!!

[@traceydsm]

Her song "Mornin' Glory" with Glen Campbell is incredible.

[@TheDivayenta]

This singer/songwriter genius also penned “ Son of a Preacher Man” and the iconic “ Fancy”- best performed by Reba McIntyre- official video. ❤

[@TristanandIsolt]

I love Fancy by Reba. I love it more by Bobbie.

[@Yowza78]

I agree. Bobbie's version of Fancyn is best, as is her video. Neither woman wrote Son of a Preacher Man, although it does sounds like something Bobbie would have written.

[@RLucas3000]

@@Yowza78 It does doesn’t it. I love Tom Gross’ more recent version of Son of a Preacher Man. Talk about Southern Gothic!

[@mikemaricle9941]

For us country folk, Dinner was the noon meal.

[@naudianeels1328]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@LaptopLarry330]

Dolly Parton and Bobbie Gentry were contemporaries in Country music in the mid-to-late-1960s, but this song crossed over to the Billboard Pop Music Charts, and became a big hit for Gentry. Bobble Gentry has been retired from the music business for a number of years, and is believed to be living a quiet life in the Greater Los Angeles, California Area.

[@newgrl]

Bobbie just... walked away. Never did another interview. She said, "Bye Felicia!" and went. One of the most badass things ever done in music history.

[@berktv2936]

If you are so interested in Bobbi Gentry, you should also listen to her performance of “Fancy,” also written by her.

[@MichaelYoder1961]

Good songs have a melody - great songs tell a story and make you think. This is a great song and she's a great story-teller

[@stevedahlberg8680]

I'm pretty sure at some point she said that it was about the cruelty of casual indifference. What a great turn of phrase. I think she also held a couple degrees in things like political science or maybe sociology and philosophy or something like that.

[@ivansavoie3190]

Story telling at its best, she is still alive at 81

[@dionysiacosmos]

There's lots of Southern Gothic works. Ann Rices's books are a great example. New Orleans is a great setting for it. Swamps, voo doo, above ground graveyards and old mansions. It's been around in music too.

[@lipby]

Southern gothic is a literary genre, and this song fits. It could have been a Flannery O'Connor or Eudora Welty story.

[@barbarastrayhorn4667]

Or Shirley Jackson who wrote The Lottery.

[@littleogeechee223]

I used to see her quite frequently out at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport back when I worked as a security guard out there. She was still stunningly beautiful, very sweet and classy. It’s not like she completely disappeared. She attended the Academy of Country Music awards back in 1982 and reportedly lives in a gated community near Memphis, Tennessee. She just grew tired of the whole showbiz hassle. She also owns real estate, primarily out in California, worth millions of dollars. She received a nice bundle from the “Ode To Billy Joe” film, so she’s never been hurting at all.

[@gagecarty4290]

That's how mental health was thought about in the 60's. It brought about the change in how we care about others and what the World thinks and talks about mental health. The World was concerned about and worried about a fictional person and what he did, more than family, friends , neighbors or people that they interact with. That's why she became very private. 😮

[@louannlang7471]

Gothic (to me) is generally haunting in its meaning because its so personal and emotional and not necessarily OBVIOUS ...its WHAT HAUNTS US emotionally. A bit mysterious. Did this or did this not fulfill this idea? I feel like the BEST STORIES are ones that can apply to MANY...Great reaction man.

[@TheDivayenta]

Yes- classic Southern Gothic.

[@Yowza78]

I agree. The best stories are those that make the readers/listeners fill in the gaps. That's what the best Southern Gothic does.

[@deannacauley166]

If you're this impressed with what is on paper about her wait till you hear her voice you will be blown away

[@soniadenison1690]

Awesome talented lady, incredible voice ❤, beautiful song. Heard she married Jim Stafford another Country singer!

[@sassymess7111]

My Mom was in highschool when this came out. Her and her friends thought there was a miscarriage and that's what was thrown from the bridge.

[@JaniceDAgostino]

Mesmerizing song.

[@dalefunk2457]

Her family didn't know that him and her were lover's

[@RLucas3000]

All we know for sure is that they were close, that she loved him.

[@dalefunk2457]

@@RLucas3000 the song hints that they threw something off the bridge, possibly a baby

[@lexiburrows8127]

@@dalefunk2457 That is what we all supposed when we were kids. The only real argument between us was whether the baby was alive or a still-born. I always thought the baby was alive and Billie-Joe could not live with the guilt.

[@GinMae]

Thanks, MMB.. I'm so glad you got the video... she was a genius with a hauntingly beautiful voice and overall sound... they actually made a stupid movie based on this song.. which had a "silly" plot.. people were so obsessed about what "they were throwing off the bridge"... Bobbie always said that the song was a story about the casual cruelty of the average person... (my paraphrase) Thanks for your reaction...

[@loisfreeman1646]

She is related to our family but distantly.

[@dionysiacosmos]

If you had looked a little closer at her bio you'd have caught on to the fact that, not only did she go to college ( unusual enough for a Southern woman ) but majored in philosophy. With that kind of background it's really not strange she'd decide to opt out of public life once she had gotten what she wanted from it.

[@brheinfeldt]

The "gothic" she's talking about is not the gothic you may be thinking of in today's age. Gothic literature emerged from Europe in the 1800's. It's a genre that places strong emphasis on intense emotion, placing terror with pleasure, and death with romance. Very dark picturesque scenery in stories, sometimes eerie. This story about the boy and the girl hints of a grim romantic secret, I think.

[@erikahlander3489]

This song was also translated to Swedish and tranferred to a Swedish concept. It was a hit here ( as "Jon Andreas visa" with Siv Malmkvist) shortly after the original. As such it struck me as a child. I like your careful reaction a lot! (And I learned some new details!).

[@Bekka_Noyb]

all time classic song. I highly suggest checking out the studio version. Even more haunting

[@robertbradley6865]

She described this song as an American tragedy

[@ronsharkey2330]

She wrote Fancy that you saw Rebas cover

[@barbarabweaver1]

She said it was about the casual cruelty in every day life. From the lyrics she knew Billy Joe since she was a child and they were at least friends and maybe romantically involved.

[@SK-lk3iu]

The reason she doesn't tell you what was thrown off the bridge is to create a mystery that caused everyone to speculate & wonder! (leaving most folks to think it might have been a baby!) If she had solved the mystery, would the song have been as haunting and memorable?

[@wuxin5847]

the reason is that it does not matter what was thrown off the bridge - the point of the song is a study in unconscious cruelty - i never speculated about what was thrown off the bridge because i know what the point of the song is - the daughter is grieving the loss of her friend and the parents and the friends and even the pastor is just concerned with passing gossip - no one cares about the daughter or billy joe - the people speculating about the what was thrown off the bridge proves the point of the song - everyone is ignoring the grieving daughter

[@CuzKatieSaysSo]

I agree with the baby speculation. Out of wedlock pregnancies were very very frowned upon still back in the day, especially the daughter of simple farmers. Somehow she managed to hide her pregnancy and they decided, obviously with very flawed and callous thinking, to dispose of the child right after birth. Billy Joe could not handle the stress and horror of what he (they) had done, and took his own life because of it. Simple story actually. But from a songwriting point of view, speculation was the wisest choice.

[@rodneyrawlings7100]

My opinion is that the answer is obvious: flowers. And that's why the narrator now spends a lot of time doing likewise--that's what she and her secret lover used to do. Remember, she expects the listener to figure out the situation by dropping hints throughout the song. And this is one last connection. Perhaps Gentry was surprised so many people could not get that, and decided to let them fight over it.

[@bowtiefidenine]

I love your background on the singer in the songs I grew up, listening to this song on the radio. Nice to hear it again different persons perspective.

[@DeborahBlaylock-er3fl]

The only thing that the internet says is that she hasn't been seen in public since 1982

[@sherriweibert3311]

This song has always had a way of drawing me in and putting me right in the middle of it!

[@kellykiewert5029]

I don't know any of her other music, but I would guess maybe this was more main-stream than most of her other music, maybe? This song, though, is beautiful and so is her voice. The "unconscious cruelty" I think means to imply that she was in shock and hurting over the news, while her family continued on with their trivial matters while she was sitting there in pain. They were completely oblivious to her devastation. I have always loved this song and very much looked forward to the movie, but I thought they took it in the wrong direction. They do show what her and Billy Joe threw off the bridge, but that is simply their interpretation. She never intended that to be the biggest mystery of the story but that is what has become.

[@punkydoodle4774]

I think unconscious cruelty means how blase her family reacted to a teen boy's death, even as they were talking about it.

[@donnaneville192]

There was a TV movie made based one this song staring Robbie Benson (another star that disappeared from fame)

[@RLucas3000]

The two biggest mysteries in rock and roll: What was thrown off the bridge (I have my guess), and just exactly who is So Vain

[@teegoodgrief279]

She's alive

[@gailhubbard7102]

Thanks for all the info on Bobbie. I didn't know half of it. So interesting! Great job!

[@bananabrooks3836]

Those backing strings SPEAK!

[@donnaneville192]

One of Reba McEntire 's biggest hits was a Bobbie Gentry's songs Fancy!

[@videoinformer]

It's actually more common than not for there to be crucial unanswered and unanswerable questions after someone takes there own life. So, it's more realistic for us to have those feelings at the song's conclusion than if she wrapped it up with a bow and no questions unanswered.

[@DougLemke-hk1hl]

Good job,Your reaction is genuine, me, and my cousins were between seven and 10 years old at the time, and our parents were very much into country music, although we were mostly attracted by the rock, R&B, soul, and Motown of the time yet this song affected all of us dramatically, keep up the good work.

[@TexasMagnolia]

Highly Recommend you react to: Reba McEntire - Fancy Another Southern Gothic tragedy written by Gentry but, made Iconic by our Queen of Country Reba. Heartbreaking story that happens in so many lives, unfortunately.

[@Slivings911]

I think she must have been (still is, if still alive?) a very smart and sensitive lady. Considering what we are learning goes on the music and entertainment industry, even back then, certainly, it’s not surprising she would clock out

[@sandrad333]

I loved this song as a child. It is in my playlist. I watched the movie once and wish I hadn’t. Just found your channel. I like that you look into the background of the song and singer.

[@wesmiddaugh230]

radio station ran contests about what was thrown off the bridge. i have 10k records and this is in my constant play area. wonderful

[@loadedorygun]

It’s like you can hear the kudzu growing on this tune. SOOO evocative and a very sophisticated theme wrapped in what Arendt might have called “the banality of tragedy.” She had mastered pacing and phrasing so early in her career. It’s not as easy as she makes it sound especially with a fairly repetitive riff. All time nugget.

[@coffee-xg6my]

Dolly, Loretta, and others were writing songs before Bobbie, But she was one of the first to actually 'produce' her own record. By the way the record was made from a guitar demo she recorded, The record company liked it s much they just added strings and an acoustic double bass and pressed it. Originally she recorded this song with about 11 or 12 verses (or so), They edited it down to just the verses you hear on the record. I've read that the other hand written verses she wrote are locked in a vault in the Mississippi archives. Note: regarding the 1976 movie, keep in mind that's just Hollywood's own invention of what the plot of the story is. Bobbie has never said what the the story actually is about and what happened that caused Billy Joe jumped to jump off the bridge. Also, just FYI, the bridge she sings about actually existed. It was stet on fire by vandals later and had to be torn down.

[@johnathanstruble1064]

The Something , that was thrown off the bridge, in the 70's movie was a Teddy Bear...but in the song, the "something"..well, let's just let the story teller tell the tale.

[@Chris-ArmyPilot]

Bobbie lives in Mississippi. Two hours from the Tallahatchie bridge! She has a net worth of $100 million!

[@user-es6gp8sk9j]

In the film, her favorite childhood rag doll was dropped from the bridge. This signified her passage into a young woman.

[@kathleencreamer6648]

Pretty saccharine stuff. Bobbi Gentry didn't write the screenplay. I doubt she meant a doll in the song. Ok movie though for the times.

[@DanNelson-zw5ji]

Billie Joe and Bobby were throwing flowers off of the bridge, This is why Bobby returned throwing flowers off the bridge in memorial of the young man she loved and had made future plans with , they threw flowers together from on top the bridge a lot when they secretly met up with each other. Someone may have pushed Billie Joe off of that bridge.

[@hookedonreactions7649]

Small towns are notoriously protective of any reclusive celebrities who live in their town. That’s one reason the more private stars have getaways in remote places. The locals let them live like any other person.

[@debbiecessna4435]

Bobbie Gentry just passed away at the end of 2023. She had lived in a gated community in Memphis, TN in 2010 Prior to that she had lived in Hawaii where she concentrated on raising her son . So strange I was able to sing along with this song and I didn’t realize I even knew the words till I found myself singing along🤍

[@allmusicservices]

Bobbie Gentry is actually still alive. She's 81.

[@rocketarmory7719]

When the movie came out, a lot of people thought she had thrown her infant child off the bridge, leading Billy Joe to kill himself in the next few days. Purely speculation though.

[@WoodsWoman822]

That was the same Speculation I heard as well !!

[@wuxin5847]

that is nonsense - there is no baby thrown off the bridge - the people speculating proves the point of the song - they are like the indifferent people in the song - it does not matter why he killed himself - the same reason people were indifferent to his death shows they were indifferent to billy joel suffering

[@wuxin5847]

@@WoodsWoman822 you miss the whole point of the song

[@user-wo1xr1tl1g]

It's implying that she and Billie Joe had a secret baby and had to throw it the brids. That's why he was devastated and she continues to mourn.

[@barbarabweaver1]

Listen to her!

[@psycojuggalo1642]

Next song by bobbie gentry son of a preacher man

[@jenniferyorgan4215]

Isn't that a Dusti Springfield song?

[@susansabatka5318]

​@@jenniferyorgan4215 Bobby wrote it and is the original artist. Both versions are great.

[@DeborahBlaylock-er3fl]

Another thing to remember is there is a movie called ode to Billy Joe Bobbie Gentry's song Billy joel, was based on that movie

[@melissabrooke1146]

I just looked and she does have a Facebook page and looks like she posts sometimes, so there’s that. 😀 Your research is appreciated, as are your reviews and insights. ❤️

[@stephbea103]

Take a look at the movie. It's an excellent example of southern gothic. It's my favorite genre because it reminds me of the blues.

[@maxbrazil3712]

This is one of those massively overplayed radio songs I never got tired of listening to.

[@mojoboogie3074]

Got to watch the movie based on this song

[@mikeplott4817]

Great Reaction 👍🙏💯

[@catserver8577]

Something I never see mentioned is that there were reports that Bobbie Gentry was inspired by the Emmett Till murder, and how many were (sadly, still are) were extremely callous and unfeeling regarding it. I think that's why she called this song a "study in unconscious cruelty". People get all tied up trying to guess what was thrown off the bridge, and the film they made is not really necessary. The point is exactly what you are saying, but the brother is the one who had the slice of pie, the girl was sitting there and it was her friend, and here they are just shrugging off what it might have meant to her.

[@U2walkn]

Love your reactions as you read up on the artist! Cheers from Juneau Alaska!

[@SAM-dg3vd]

Here's what you missed: it's the BROTHER who asks for another slice of pie... she's relating how each of the other three in her family reacts: first is papa. And everything just after that is what papa says about Billie Joe. Mama replies it's a shame. Then second is the BROTHER who sets up the backstory: brother, Tom, and Billie Joe dropped a front down her back years ago when they were at a movie. Back in the day, it was pretty commonly known/assumed that a boy only played pranks on a girl he had a crush on... and she smiles when she sings about it. That's the set up that gives away that she and Billie Joe were flirting, and may been sweet on each other since some years ago but never shared it with anyone... (maybe he wouldn't've been seen as "good enough" since he was from Choctaw Ridge? It's mentioned with derision several times) The. BROTHER continues... asking " wasnt I [meaning the girl, the singer] talking to Billie Joe after church last Sunday night?" Anither clue that singer and Billy Joe knew each other really well but no one else was supposed to know HOW well. Young girls were pretty much not allowed to talk to young boys alone with no chaperone. So she must've had something pretty urgent she needed to tell him in the only place they might be able to speak. And it's brother who asks for another piece of pie and says I just saw him at the sawmill yesterday. And now you're telling me he jumped off a bridge today. Huh. Wow. Third, Mama says what's wrong? Where's your appetite? You haven't eaten a thing. What would cause a healthy young girl who's been working all day to not touch her food (also a confirmation that it's not the singer who's asked for "another" piece of pie)? And final reveal of why she's so traumatized is casual comment from Mama that the preacher saw somebody who looked just Ike the singer with Billie Joe throwing "something" off the bridge. Next day he ends his own life. She is frozen with trauma and her family is obliviou

[@littlebear6119]

The song came out in 1967, heard it in December 1967 all through our honeymoon then.

[@J_Gamble]

That was her brother who saw him at the sawmill and ate a piece of apple pie

[@perrymalcolm3802]

It’s NOT “Gothic”. “Southern Gothic” is its own special thing. Think the claustrophobia of closed in communities/plantations/farms/homes where life is dealt with, or not, according to that microcosm’s own in-bred (sometimes literally!) rules. Think Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Flannery O’Connor. This fits in nicely. So NOT European “gothic” and certainly not “goth” which is a more recent thing

[@glassontherocks]

Here's a dark one from Simon and Garfunkel "Richard Cory"

[@Shabenn]

You have to consider also the times and life the subjects lived. Mama had a house to tend to and take care of dad and the kids, the kids and dad worked all day, manual labor on their homestead. If they wanted to eat, keep their home, and pay their bills, they had to work everyday. They didn't have the luxury of breaking down and stopping their lives to grieve no matter how they felt about him. It was a great song. But I don't hear cruelty. Yeah, dad thought he was a silly boy. Brother reminisced about times he'd spent with him and thought it wasn't right, mom was sad and sister was effected enough that she lost her appetite. Not cruel so much as realistic. The movie is good and very interesting, it's worth the time to watch it.

[@wuxin5847]

no you miss the point of song - their daughter is sitting there shocked by the death of her close friend and every one is just speculating and spreading gossip - you are just like these people so you need to make excuses for their indifference to their daughter and billy joe

[@Shabenn]

@@wuxin5847 You didn't read half of my comment did you? A lot of people today have no concept of how the subjects of the song lived even though the song tells you. People like that didn't have luxury of their lives practically ending because someone they knew committed suicide, like weaklings today do. Mom probably fixed up some food for his family, they would have offered condolences and attended his funeral and life went on and so did death. It was their reality.

[@chitownlee]

She's still alive at 81.

[@nadinemarie3811]

This is one of my all time favorite songs. Great story telling.

[@lisaforet9911]

Watch the movie Ole to Billy Joe and that will answer all your questions. Great reactions

[@boomeister2]

She WAS the girlfriend! She is sitting there at the table in shock because she and Billy Joe had a relationship, unbeknownst to her family, and she is just hearing the news that he committed suicide. That's why she has no appetite. It was her brother who spoke about seeing Billy Joe at the sawmill yesterday as he said he'd have another piece of apple pie. Unfortunately, most reactors get the song wrong because they are busy reading the captions on the screen and miss the lyrics! Listen to it again without watching the video... like how songs were meant to be listened to BEFORE there were videos 😉

[@rhondafonda957]

The Tallahatchee River in Mississippi is the river Emmit Till’s body was found in. I think she used that river in the story in respect to him. 😢 Great song and enjoyed your reaction.

[@gagecarty4290]

Yes, she was before Dolly Parton

[@trieroffact]

Consider reacting to Brooks and Dunn cover of BW Stephenson's 1973 hit "My Maria". Best cover ever, just behind Disturbed's Sounds of Silence

[@psycojuggalo1642]

The narrator of the song was involved with billy joe romantically nobody knows what was thrown off the bridge or why he jumped

[@MsMarple]

That storyline is quite likely the truth, but I can imagine other scenarios as well. (She might have been just his friend, he being gay at a time that was not respected AT ALL, especially in the Deep South.) The item could have been something either precious or shameful to him. If scenario 1, perhaps an aborted baby. If the other, alternate scenario - that could be the reason why she never explained it 50+ yrs ago.

[@psycojuggalo1642]

@MsMarple I would have to agree miss gentry left this song a mystery the movie didn't answer many questions either

[@timblitch1909]

Someone commented in a post recently they saw her in the Memphis area and recognized her. When asked for an autograph, Ms Gentry replied, "I don't do that anymore". The post said she still had a dynamite figure at 80 and her hair was short and silver white. She's still alive; but for whatever reason when she left the business of show and music she did it forever and for good.

[@aliciagritz1030]

P.S. Bobbie Gentry also did the song " Fancy " which Reba McEntire had a hit with 😊

[@leahdoerr731]

You're awesome keep it up 😊

[@stevedahlberg8680]

I think it's brilliant storytelling not to reveal what it was because it misses the entire point of her message. Even though it completely engages us and makes us want to know. The main point is how this very well-known local man to them in their small community and most likely her sweetheart, ends up with his shocking suicide being treated so casually, pass the biscuits please. Her mom notices that she hasn't eaten a bite all day and doesn't seem to have an appetite but it doesn't ring any bells. They just proceed with gossip and dinnertime banter. Can you imagine how much grief she must have been holding on to internally while nobody around her really seemed to give much of a shit.