what is the meaning behind the song ode to billie joe
Ode to Billie Joe The song takes the form of a first-person narrative performed over sparse acoustic accompaniment. 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. Hearsay around the "Tallahatchie Bridge" forms the narrative and musical hook. The song concludes with the demise of the father and the lingering, singular effects of the two deaths on the family. According to Gentry the song is about indifference and unshared grief.[5]