Talk:Ode to Billie Joe

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Why 1953? No year is given in the lyrics http://users.cis.net/sammy/billyjoe.htm

It was a real incident which happened June 3, 1953.Doovinator 18:56, 3 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Is there a reference on the truth of this story? Did Bobbie Gentry actually know Billy Joe, or did she just write the song about him? ~leif 23:25, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)

According to this page the song is not true, but the place is, and infact the popularity of the song caused many people to jump off said bridge without injury. Where did the idea that it was a real incident come from? ~leif 23:35, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)

When the song came out I was a teenager and there was much discussion about it. I recall very well reading (though I don't recall where; it may have been Newsweek) that the song was based on a true incident from June 3, 1953. I have reason to remember this, because it was the day I was born. Bobbie Gentry never would reveal anything else about the song or any of the many details in it--if the boy's name was really Billy Joe or if the Tallahatchie Bridge was really the bridge he jumped off or what was thrown off the bridge or anything else--but she clearly claimed that the relevant incident took place on June 3, 1953. In the movie, IIRC (I don't have a copy on hand) the vehicles all have 1953 plates, so at least from the viewpoint of the movie the 1953 date certainly stands. Doovinator

Hmm, personal memory... sounds like a fair source I guess :) But now that I linked to that discussion page, that says the song is fiction, maybe there should be some kind of mention in the article about the possibility that names and places may have been changed from actual events. The current wording makes it sound very factual. I'm not going to do it myself right now though.. Thanks for your description of events btw, more interesting than I expected! ~leif 05:32, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Good point. I'll tweak the wording a little. Doovinator 11:45, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)

If it helps any, this page shows the cover of a paperback version of the story from the early-mid-1970s (17th printing in 1976), and you can clearly see the 1953 date specified on it. -- Random visitor browsing through

[edit] Movie answers

This article currently claims that the questions about the real-life incident Bobbie Gentry alludes to were answered by the 1976 movie. Based on what I've seen of so-called reality-based movies, I can't help thinking that statement is wishful thinking on the part of fans, not encyclopedia-worthy fact. Is there even a single credible source for such a claim? (And, no, song lyrics webpages and IMDb, which can be edited by Joe Q. Public, do not constitute credible sources. I'm talking about non-fiction books or other respectable print sources.) — Jeff Q 15:37, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Well, it's been a long while since I saw the film, but so far as I remember, it doesn't actually follow the song exactly, and even contradicts it at some points. It could be said to be a possible answer, I think, but nothing for certain. --MockTurtle 02:36, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I've tried to track down more information on the above question, coming up with the following:

• The 1976 movie was based on the book by Herman Raucher, a 1976 paperback printing of which is mentioned above by "Random visitor browsing through" (24.225.166.231).
• The book cover states that it's a novel (i.e., fiction), although its back cover implies but doesn't explicitly claim it to be a true story.
• Raucher is known for writing other notable fictional stories, most notably The Summer of '42.
• The U.S. Library of Congress doesn't appear to have a copy of Raucher's book.
• The movie isn't currently available through Netflix, so I can't rent it to see if it makes any unambiguous claims about its historicity.
• The IMDb plot outline implies the story is true, but it sounds rather similar to the blurb on the book's back cover, which leaves room for doubt.

The lack of any supporting evidence thus far that this movie actually provides accurate answers to the mystery behind Bobbie Gentry's song suggests that it's simply one of those many fictional stories that are played up as if they're true, without actually claiming to be so. I will therefore rephrase the text accordingly. It will still be ambiguous, because I don't know that it's not true. Could somebody track down the movie and see what it says? — Jeff Q (talk) 21:39, 27 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I just saw the movie last night. Billie Joe is in love with Bobbie Lee. He gets drunk and has an affair with a man. After sobering up he realizes it won't be a one time experiance and believes he is in fact homosexual. He can't deal with living his life that way and commits suicide. Bobbie Lee and Billie Joe were seen together on the bridge and the thing that was thrown off was Bobbie Lee's rag doll. The movie isn't all that great but I know the song so I watched it. Angela Rae 19:58, 24 August 2005 (UTC)Angela Rae

[edit] Who did the arrangement?

Much is made of the tasteful string arrangement on Bobbie Gentry's version of this song, but I have been unable to find out who did it. Does anyone know who is responsible for the string arrangement on this record? Rich 03:40, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Why are the LP and song on the same page?

This makes no sense to me. Why doesn't the song have a separate page from the LP that was built around it? Especially because there is a chain at the bottom of the page linking to Billboard chart-topping songs. Cheemo 02:33, 3 November 2006 (UTC)