Ode to Billie Joe

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