| REVIEWER | RATING & REVIEW |
 | georges11 (20)
05/23/2008 | This ballad has a haunting feeling to it, don't know if it's the background music or the rythm of the verses. It used to creep me out in my younger days but now seems kindof mysterious and sad at the same time. I've heard it many times but to this day when it plays I find I listen to it in its entirety and get the same feeling.
(3 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | Molfan (63)
05/15/2008 | one of the better tragic songs. maybe because it is a country cross over. and country music tells some of the best stories. well done lyrics that is open for discussion. not only a tragic song but has mystery in it. heck, it even ended up with a movie made because of this song.
(2 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | FranksWildYears (60)
05/15/2008 | For some reason I've always liked this song. I think its the swampy, sultry feel of the music. It's coupled with a stark story that doesn't go over the top but instead conveys a scandal in whispers, swept under the rug. A very authentic feel. Plus when I was a little kid, I didn't understand why, butI thought Bobby Gentry looked really good with that big hair and tight slacks.
(4 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | cablejockey (19)
05/15/2008 | This song paints such a strong picture I can almost taste the biscuits and smell the apple pie. I can almost hear the drawling accent as the family talks to each other around the table. I can certainly feel the boredom and ennui coming from the family and their life in that sleepy dusty delta town.
(4 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | edt4 (115)
05/14/2008 | I have to agree with Git-- this song haunted me from the time I first heard it as a child. I believe they made a movie supposedly based on the song in the mid-70's starring Robbie Benson (uh-huh...you know it's going to be great when it stars Robbie Benson), and apparently "revealed" that Billy Joe's secret (I did myself a favor and didn't see the movie, by the way) was having had a homosexual experience. The song is as powerful as it is because so much is kept mysterious and obscure (some have speculated-- did the narrator and Billy Joe have a baby that was thrown off the bridge? Was Billy Joe actually a black man whom the narrator had an affair with? Gentry herself has said she didn't have a reason for the suicide when she wrote the song). And, as Git mentions, the song is more about the reaction to the suicide than the suicide itself. Still a powerful and eerie song.
(6 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | irishgit (155)
05/14/2008 | Interesting and well delivered song by Gentry, one of the better things on this list.
For me the best part is the casual, almost callous manner that the suicide of Billy Joe is discussed, and all the speculation of what he and the narrator were "throwing off the Tallahatchie Bridge" is unimportant.
(4 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
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