"It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay…."
When I first heard this song it was like nothing else in the charts. The sound is sparse and swampy, voice and acoustic guitar close and intimate with unpredictable strings swooping, sighing and groaning in the background. And the story a blend of everyday detail and unspoken mystery.
Verse one introduces us to three characters, gives us their connections, where they are and what they're doing. We know the date, the weather and way the mother talks. Then it caps it off by breaking the news of the suicide of Billie Joe McAllister. All in only six lines.
As the conversation continues around the dinner table we hear the unconcerned reactions of the family.
"And papa said to mama, as he passed around the blackeyed peas
Well, Billie 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
And mama said it was shame about Billie Joe, anyhow"
The reveal that there was a secret relationship between Billie Joe and the narrator comes in the most understated way possible:
"And mama said to me, child, what's happened to your appetite?
I've been cookin' all morning, and you haven't touched a single bite"
It's wonderful writing. As listeners, we're allowed to read between the lines. If you know the song, you'll be aware that Bille Joe and ‘a girl who looked a lot like you' were seen throwing something off the same bridge the day before he jumped. That's been a source of speculation since the song was released. Bobbie Gentry has said only that it was something symbolic (and hinted in one interview it may have been a wedding ring). To be honest, I think it's more powerful not to know.
I mentioned the strings, which were added later to the original guitar and vocal demo. Arranger Jimmie Haskell felt the song sounded like a film and scored his arrangement to intensify the atmosphere and emotion. Often overlooked, the four violins and two cellos are a key element.
A bleak, unconventional song about suicide, by an unknown singer, is not an obvious recipe for a number one hit. Yet that's what it was. Covered by artists from Dolly Parton to Sinead O'Connor and adapted into a full-length film. The song that inspired Tony Joe White (another of my favourite writers) to become a songwriter.
Maybe my biggest take-away is the recognition that to capture the imagination you need to allow room for the imagination. Tell us a strong story and we'll provide the subtext.
You can find my favourite live performance here: