Input | Output |
---|---|
Link | YouTube |
Published | 2020/01/22 |
Theme | |
Status | article incomplete |
Beau says:
Unveiling the mystery behind "Ode to Billy Joe," Beau reveals a darker truth - it's not about what was thrown off the bridge, but the apathy and lack of care surrounding Billy Joe's tragic act.
Story enthusiasts, Music lovers
Deeper insights into societal indifference and the importance of genuine care in relationships.
#Music #SongInterpretation #FamilyDynamics #Apathy #Communication
Well, howdy there, internet people, it's Bo again.
People seem to enjoy using a song to get at a deeper meaning.
So tonight, we're going to talk about a song that has a deeper
meaning that people have been talking about for 40 or 50 years,
trying to figure out the mystery of the song, what it means.
And the funny part is, the reason I think people can't
figure it out is because the deeper meaning of the song is
true.
So tonight, we're going to talk about why Billy Joe
McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge.
Name of the song is Ode to Billy Joe, written by Bobby
Gentry, not Janis Joplin.
No where that.
Anyway.
So, that song, what's it about?
We don't know, right?
It's a mystery.
It's a mystery because we don't know what they threw off the bridge.
It's driving the country crazy for 40 or 50 years now.
See, the thing is, it doesn't matter because that's not the point of the song.
There are theories about what was thrown off the bridge, and they run wild.
Everything from a wedding ring, to flowers, to a rag doll, to a baby.
The meaning of the song, I think, is even darker than any of that, any of it.
Any of that, any of it.
The point of the song is not why Billy Joe jumped off the bridge, it's not.
It's an exciting incident, but that's not the plot, it's not the plot.
People talk about that missing fact, it's a negative fact, it's something you expect
to be there, it isn't.
like the Sherlock Holmes story. Sometimes that can point you to the right question.
Sometimes it can give you the answer. But the answer is only important if you're asking
the right question. The question isn't what he throw off the bridge. The question is why
didn't the author include it? Because it's not important. It's not important. The plot
is not him jumping off the bridge the plot is the conversation at the table
nobody at that table
with the exception of the narrator
could tell you
and she doesn't
i think it points to something a little darker
there are times
when people go that route
I'll show them
they'll miss me when I'm gone
but what the song shows is that that's really not true
what the song shows
is that those people that don't like you
like the father
thought you never had a lick of sense
past the biscuits I got to get that bottom 40 acres done.
Your friend from when you were younger got some apple pie.
Nobody cared except for one person, his girlfriend.
The rest of the family didn't even know it was a girlfriend.
She cared, lost her appetite.
You only hurt the ones you love when you go that route.
Life is never without the means to dismiss itself,
but that seems like a really, really bad reason to do it.
Because the only people who care
would be the only people who cared
when you're still alive.
The reason that meaning doesn't get picked up
is because it's true.
When we listen to that, we don't think of that as abnormal.
That nobody at the table cared, because we know it's true.
Deep down, it's true.
We don't care.
What are we focused on? What did they throw off the bridge?
What's the scandal? What's the gossip?
I don't care about the life.
The fact that we focus on what they threw off the bridge shows that it's true.
That very disturbing dark reality is true.
Now, Bobbi Gentry was very smart.
She never actually disclosed her meaning.
In fact, one time when she was asked, she said,
I don't know.
But I failed to believe that a storyteller like her
didn't have a deeper point.
And the one time she hinted to it,
she said that a lot of people had made guesses
as to what was thrown off the bridge,
but that's not the message.
had to be a message, it was the nonchalant conversation at the table.
Kind of exploring what happens after you go, especially if you go that route.
And I think that's even darker than the baby.
Anyway, it's just a thought.
I'll have a good night.
{{Shirt}}
{{EasterEgg}}