Ode to Billy Joe
Bradley Leighton Lyrics

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
The singer introduces the setting of this story, describing a hot and dry day in the Mississippi Delta region.

I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was balin' hay
The singer and his brother were working on their family farm, chopping cotton and baling hay.

And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
The family took a break from their work for dinner and walked back to their house to eat.

And Mama hollered out the back door "y'all remember to wipe your feet"
The artist's mother reminds everyone to wipe their feet before entering the house.

And then she said "I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge"
The artist's mother shares some news she heard earlier in the day from a location called Choctaw Ridge.

"Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"
The news that the singer's mother received was that a man named Billy Joe MacAllister had committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.

'n' Papa said to Mama as he passed around the blackeyed peas
The singer's father makes a casual comment to his wife while they eat dinner and share some blackeyed peas.

"Well Billy Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits, please"
The artist's father comments on Billy Joe's perceived lack of intelligence, and then asks for someone to pass the biscuits.

"There's five more acres in the lower forty I've got to plow"
The artist's father mentions the additional work he has to do on their farm, specifically plowing five more acres in the lower forty acres of their land.

'n' Mama said it was shame about Billy Joe, anyhow
The artist's mother expresses her sadness about Billy Joe's death.

Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
The singer's family reflects on the negativity associated with Choctaw Ridge, where Billy Joe died.

And now Billy Joe MacAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
The chorus reminds us about the main event of the story - the fact that Billy Joe MacAllister committed suicide by jumping off a bridge over the Tallahatchie River.

'n' Brother said he recollected when he and Tom and Billie Joe
The singer's brother reminisces about a time when he, Tom, and Billy Joe played a prank on the singer by putting a frog down his back at the local picture show in Carroll County.

Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show
The singer's brother did something mean to the singer by placing a frog on his back during a movie at the Carroll County picture show.

And wasn't I talkin' to him after church last Sunday night?
The singer remembers talking to Billy Joe after church the previous Sunday night.

"I'll have another piece-a apple pie, you know it don't seem right"
The artist makes a comment about not having much of an appetite, possibly due to his shock over Billy Joe's death.

"I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge"
The artist claims to have seen Billy Joe at a sawmill on Choctaw Ridge the day before his death.

"And now ya tell me Billie Joe's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"
The singer's brother is surprised to hear that Billy Joe has committed suicide by jumping off the Tallahatchie Bridge.

'n' Mama said to me "Child, what's happened to your appetite?"
The singer's mother notices that he is not eating much and asks him what's wrong.

"I've been cookin' all morning and you haven't touched a single bite"
The artist's mother expresses her disappointment that he isn't eating the food she spent all morning cooking.

"That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today"
The artist's mother mentions that a local preacher, Brother Taylor, came to visit them that day.

"Said he'd be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way"
Brother Taylor invited the family to have dinner with him on Sunday.

"He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge"
Brother Taylor tells the singer's mother that he saw a girl who resembled the singer on Choctaw Ridge.

"And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge"
According to Brother Taylor, the girl he saw on Choctaw Ridge was with Billy Joe and they were throwing something off the Tallahatchie Bridge.

A year has come 'n' gone since we heard the news 'bout Billy Joe
The singer reflects on the passage of time since they first heard about Billy Joe's death - it has been a year.

'n' Brother married Becky Thompson, they bought a store in Tupelo
The singer's brother has since gotten married to a woman named Becky Thompson and they bought a store in Tupelo, Mississippi.

There was a virus going 'round, Papa caught it and he died last Spring
The singer's father passed away from an illness that was circulating in the area during the previous Spring.

And now Mama doesn't seem to wanna do much of anything
The artist's mother has been struggling since her husband's death and doesn't seem to have much motivation to do anything.

And me, I spend a lot of time pickin' flowers up on Choctaw Ridge
The artist spends a lot of time up on Choctaw Ridge, where he picks flowers and possibly reflects on the events of the past year.

And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge
The singer drops the flowers he picks into the muddy water beneath the Tallahatchie Bridge, possibly as a way of remembering Billy Joe.