Patricia Barber - Ode To Billy Joe lyrics
rate meIt was the third of June<br />
Another sleepy, dusty Delta day<br />
I was out choppin' cotton<br />
And my brother was balin' hay<br />
<br />
At dinner time we stopped<br />
Walked back to the house to eat<br />
Mama hollered out the back door<br />
"Y'all remember to wipe your feet"<br />
<br />
Then she said, "I got some news<br />
This mornin' from Choctaw Ridge"<br />
"Today Billy Joe Mac Allister<br />
Jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"<br />
<br />
Papa said to Mama as he passed<br />
Around the black eyed peas<br />
"Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense<br />
Pass the biscuits, please"<br />
<br />
"There's five more acres<br />
In the lower forty I've got to plow"<br />
Mama said it was shame<br />
About Billy Joe, anyhow<br />
<br />
Seems like nothin' ever comes<br />
To no good up on Choctaw Ridge<br />
And now Billy Joe Mac Allister's<br />
Jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge<br />
<br />
Mama said to me<br />
"Child, what's happened to your appetite?<br />
I've been cookin' all mornin'<br />
And you haven't touched a single bite"<br />
<br />
"That nice young preacher<br />
Brother Taylor, dropped by today<br />
Said he'd be pleased to have a dinner<br />
On Sunday, oh, by the way"<br />
<br />
"He said he saw a girl that looked a lot<br />
Like you up on Choctaw Ridge"<br />
"And she and Billy Joe were throwing<br />
Somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge"<br />
<br />
Well, a year has come 'n' gone<br />
Since we heard the news about Billy Joe<br />
Brother married Becky Thompson<br />
Bought a store in Tupelo<br />
<br />
There was a virus going 'round<br />
Papa caught it and he died last Spring<br />
Now Mama doesn't seem<br />
To wanna do much of anything<br />
<br />
And me, I spend a lot of time<br />
Pickin' flowers up on Choctaw Ridge<br />
And drop them into the muddy water<br />
Off the Tallahatchie Bridge