Create a list ». My Favorite Movies Ever! More Joe movies. HBO December The Magnolia State Movies. See all related lists ». Yes, it was a baby. He jumped off the bridge from heartache over losing the baby, over killing the baby, over rejection from the girlfriend never occurred to me. These are my opinions. Shame on us, and I am guilty as well, because I never thought of that back then. And if it was in the Mississippi delta I doubt that there would be any heights sufficient to be lethal.
But he could have weighted himself down and drowned. I always assumed the song was beautiful poetic fiction. But if the details of the song are fact and Bobbie Gentry was in love with him, then I commend Gentry for not only her poetic and musical talent but also her bravery in sharing her deeply intimate story. I remember thinking that the family was unwittingly callous.
Save gentry herself, the world gave not much thought to Billy Joe. I thought the pain of that on top of the loss of her lover and her empathy for him as she herself is treated with insensitivity to be the main message.
The public reaction seemed to miss or at least not appreciate that aspect of the story. Then the movie comes out and mucks up the song. The historical timing with the lunacy of sending more troops to Vietnam, naturally expands the social statement and gives it universal appreciation. However this bridge is not the one in the film. The film bridge is in Roebuck Ms about 6 miles from Greenwood and has since been replaced with a concrete bridge.
The connection to Till with Billy is preposterous for the poster who made that comment. Hope that clears up some of your questions…. It could be anything. I respect her for maintaining the mystery and never telling what it was that they threw off the bridge. It makes the song 10X more badass. You are absolutely right. Well I think Bobbie Gentry is hotter than fire. I cant believe she has let wonder the two questions for so long and only she has the answer and I believe there is an answer Sure would like to see a picture of her today I just bet she is still good a looking lady.
Those Mississippi girls are the best I know a few mmmm. Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the bridge because he was struggling with the fact that he was in love with a young girl, but physically attracted to a man.
He had a sexual encounter with that man. He realized that he loved the girl but could not be with her in the way they both wanted him to be. Bravo, Scot…well said. Scot is correct. Only Hollywood can put that kind of twist on a good story and ruin it. The movie is a fictional story inspired by the song, which came out in Inspired by, NOT a biography. The theory about Emmett Till is about as plausible as saying that the German co-pilot recently committed suicide and mass murder because, thanks to continued teaching in German schools that successive generations of Germans -not even born during the war- must bear the guilt of the holocaust, and thus, he did the bastardly deed out of his own guilt.
This song has been a favorite of mine ever since it first aired. This is the most haunting song that I have ever listened to. And I have been a music fan since this was out. And what a lovely woman that sang it to us. Thanks for clearing up a year mystery for me!
Great piece! Bobby Gentry retired from performing and lived in the southwest in obscurity by choice. Your tale of her body being found in the river is pure fantasy. Go pedal it elsewhere…. So, K. Is this true? Well my theory albeit sad is that they threw a baby off the bridge and Billie Joe was so scared he committed suicide. The song does say he in reference to Billie Joe. I do not think it was Emmett Till they threw off the bridge at least not her and Billie.
Would anyone have the original seven minute song lyric before it was edited down before the recording? The best female singer i have ever heard. No one can out do the the soulfullness of this classy lady. Maybe her and elvis are hiding out together,.
Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Orrin Keepnews. Orrin Keepnews, one of the most respected producers in jazz history, played an integral role in the birth of modern jazz. Don Was. Bob Ezrin. Subscribe If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it. David says:.
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She only sang on the demo because it was cheaper than hiring someone else, and had Lou Rawls in mind to record it. They create the room for the beautiful string arrangements, or call-and-response vocal arrangements, the badass electric guitar, the Muscle Shoals kind of beats. It all comes from that intrinsic phrasing of her guitar and singing. At Capitol, that demo landed in the hands of producer Kelly Gordon.
Gordon liked it, but decided it needed something extra. When Haskell arrived at the studio, he found four violins and two cellos. To make it work, Haskell hired bassist Jesse Erlich to pluck the cello as a bass. They recorded it that night. She never re-recorded the vocals or guitar at Capitol. The result transcends the sum of its parts. As was revealed in the lawsuit that followed, Paris and Gentry struck a deal that cut each other in on potential profits from any collaboration.
In court, Gentry testified that she called off the deal because, she said, Paris misrepresented his role in landing her deal at Capitol. The movie gave it one POV, but if, in the original lyrics, Billy Joe was Billy Jo, that would certainly hint at the female version of that perspective. Both the movie's reason and the spelling of Billy Jo seem to point at "the love that dares not speak its name" as it was called then which was certainly a strong theme in that era.
Any number of Southern playwrights including Tennessee Williams have dwelt on it both directly and indirectly. Hello Paula, Thank you for reading and commenting.
It really is a great song, and I'm glad it brought back fond memories for you. Great song, wonderful memories. It seemed to make sense to me then, that Billie Joe jumped due to guilt he couldn't handle.
That song definitely had people wondering and guessing and it was very popular. Hello Flourish. Lots of folks seem to believe it was a stillborn baby that was thrown from the bridge. I never thought about that as a young person, but now of course I can see why people would think that way. The missing verses are so interesting too, and add the possibility of something having transpired between he and Sally Jane that made him jump.
This truly captivated my attention. The callous way that the family discusses the tragedy reflects the stigma of suicide and suicide loss. Thank you so much John, I always loved this song too, and invented a few different storylines of my own.
None of them involved anything like what was in the movie though. This was great Kaili. I used to love this song growing up and had an album with it on. Of course, I also wondered what was thrown off the bridge. I surmised it may have been a still-born baby. But, who knows as Bobby refused to reveal it.
Great job with this article.
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