<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ode to Billie Joe (song)</span>

Ode to Billie Joe (song)

<p>"<b>Ode to Billie Joe</b>" is a song by American singer-songwriter <a href="/en/Bobbie_Gentry" title="Bobbie Gentry" class="wl">Bobbie Gentry</a> released by <a href="/en/Capitol_Records" title="Capitol Records" class="wl">Capitol Records</a> in July 1967, and later used as the title-track of <a href="/en/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(album)" title="Ode to Billie Joe (album)" class="wl">her debut album</a>. Five weeks after its release, the song topped <i><a href="/en/Billboard_(magazine)" title="Billboard (magazine)" class="wl">Billboard's</a></i> <a href="/en/Billboard_Hot_100" title="Billboard Hot 100" class="wl">Pop singles chart</a>. It also appeared in the top 10 of the <a href="/en/Adult_Contemporary_(chart)" title="Adult Contemporary (chart)" class="wl">Adult Contemporary</a> and <a href="/en/Hot_R&B/Hip-Hop_Songs" title="Hot R&amp;B/Hip-Hop Songs" class="wl">Hot R&amp;B singles</a> charts, and in the top 20 of the <a href="/en/Hot_Country_Songs" title="Hot Country Songs" class="wl">Hot Country Songs</a> list. </p>

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<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt5">1967 Bobbie Gentry song</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: "Ode to Billie Joe", Single by Bobbie Gentry,...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox vevent mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above summary notheme" style="background-color: khaki; font-size: 125%;">"Ode to Billie Joe"</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size"><a href="/en/File:Bobbie_Gentry_-_Ode_to_Billie_Joe_45_single.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" title="Label of a 45 single. The design features orange and yellow spirals. On the top it reads &quot;Ode to Billie Joe&quot;. The logo of Capitol Records is printed on the left and &quot;Bobbie Gentry&quot; on the bottom. The right side features the catalog number, length of the song and copyright details." data-hash="File:Bobbie_Gentry_-_Ode_to_Billie_Joe_45_single.jpg"><img loading="lazy"alt="Label of a 45 single. The design features orange and yellow spirals. On the top it reads &quot;Ode to Billie Joe&quot;. The logo of Capitol Records is printed on the left and &quot;Bobbie Gentry&quot; on the bottom. The right side features the catalog number, length of the song and copyright details." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Bobbie_Gentry_-_Ode_to_Billie_Joe_45_single.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="210" data-file-height="211" data-file-type="bitmap" height="211" width="210"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Side A of US single</div></td></tr><tr class="description"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header description notheme" style="background-color: khaki;"><a href="/en/Single_(music)" title="Single (music)" class="wl">Single</a> by <a href="/en/Bobbie_Gentry" title="Bobbie Gentry" class="wl">Bobbie Gentry</a></th></tr><tr class="description"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header description notheme" style="background-color: khaki;">from the album <i> <a href="/en/Ode_to_Billie_Joe_(album)" title="Ode to Billie Joe (album)" class="wl">Ode to Billie Joe</a> </i></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/en/A-side_and_B-side" title="A-side and B-side" class="wl">B-side</a></span></th><td class="infobox-data plainlist">"Mississippi Delta"</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Released</th><td class="infobox-data plainlist">July 1967</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Recording_studio" title="Recording studio" class="wl">Studio</a></th><td class="infobox-data plainlist"><a href="/en/Capitol_Studios" title="Capitol Studios" class="wl">Capitol</a>, <a href="/en/Hollywood,_California" title="Hollywood, California" class="mw-redirect wl">Hollywood, California</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Music_genre" title="Music genre" class="wl">Genre</a></th><td class="infobox-data category hlist"><a href="/en/Gothic_country" title="Gothic country" class="wl">Gothic country</a><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Length</th><td class="infobox-data plainlist"><span class="duration"><span class="min">4</span>:<span class="s">15</span></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Record_label" title="Record label" class="wl">Label</a></th><td class="infobox-data hlist"><a href="/en/Capitol_Records" title="Capitol Records" class="wl">Capitol</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/en/Songwriter" title="Songwriter" class="wl">Songwriter(s)</a></span></th><td class="infobox-data hlist">Bobbie Gentry</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/en/Record_producer" title="Record producer" class="wl">Producer(s)</a></span></th><td class="infobox-data hlist"><a href="/en/Kelly_Gordon" title="Kelly Gordon" class="wl">Kelly Gordon</a>, Bobby Paris</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header description notheme" style="background-color: khaki;"><a href="/en/Bobbie_Gentry" title="Bobbie Gentry" class="wl">Bobbie Gentry</a> singles chronology</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">
<table style="background: transparent; width: 100%; min-width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; display: inline-table;" class="notheme">
<tbody><tr style="line-height: 1.4em;">
<td style="width: 33%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding: .2em .1em .2em 0;">"Stranger in the Mirror" <br>(1966)</td>
<td style="width: 33%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding:.2em .1em;">"<b>Ode to Billie Joe</b>" <br>(1967)</td>
<td style="width: 33%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding: .2em 0 .2em .1em;">"I Saw an Angel Die" <br>(1967)</td></tr>
</tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-below"></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background:khaki">Official audio</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJZ_ViDADOE" class="external text" target="_blank"><span class="plainlinks">"Ode To Billie Joe"</span></a> on <a href="/en/YouTube" title="YouTube" class="wl">YouTube</a></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2">
</td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>

<p>The song takes the form of a <a href="/en/First-person_narrative" title="First-person narrative" class="wl">first-person narrative</a> performed over sparse <a href="/en/Acoustic_guitar" title="Acoustic guitar" class="wl">acoustic guitar</a> accompaniment with strings in the background. It tells of a rural Mississippi family's reaction to the news of the suicide of Billie Joe McAllister, a local boy to whom the daughter (and narrator) is connected. The song received widespread attention, leaving its audience intrigued as to what the narrator and Billie Joe threw off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Gentry later clarified that she intended the song to portray the family's indifference to the suicide in what she deemed "a study in unconscious cruelty," while she remarked the object thrown was not relevant to the message.  </p>

<p>"Ode to Billie Joe" was nominated for eight <a href="/en/Grammy_Awards" title="Grammy Awards" class="wl">Grammy Awards</a>; Gentry and arranger <a href="/en/Jimmie_Haskell" title="Jimmie Haskell" class="wl">Jimmie Haskell</a> won three between them. Gentry's writing was adapted for the 1976 film <i><a href="/en/Ode_to_Billy_Joe_(film)" title="Ode to Billy Joe (film)" class="wl">Ode to Billy Joe</a>.</i>  The song appeared on <i><a href="/en/Rolling_Stone" title="Rolling Stone" class="wl">Rolling Stone</a>'s</i> lists,  <a href="/en/Rolling_Stone's_500_Greatest_Songs_of_All_Time" title="Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" class="wl">500 Greatest Songs of All Time</a> and Greatest Country Songs, while <i><a href="/en/Pitchfork_(website)" title="Pitchfork (website)" class="wl">Pitchfork</a></i> featured it on their 200 Best Songs of the 1960s list.</p>



"Ode to Billie Joe" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry released by Capitol Records in July 1967, and later used as the title-track of her debut album. Five weeks after its release, the song topped Billboard's Pop singles chart. It also appeared in the top 10 of the Adult Contemporary and Hot R&amp;B singles charts, and in the top 20 of the Hot Country Songs list.  The song takes the form of a first-person narrative performed over sparse acoustic guitar accompaniment with strings in the background. It tells of a rural Mississippi family's reaction to the news of the suicide of Billie Joe McAllister, a local boy to whom the daughter is connected. The song received widespread attention, leaving its audience intrigued as to what the narrator and Billie Joe threw off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Gentry later clarified that she intended the song to portray the family's indifference to the suicide in what she deemed "a study in unconscious cruelty," while she remarked the object thrown was not relevant to the message.   