What Was Thrown Off the Tallahatchie Bridge?


Think back, think way back... it's 1967 and the voice on the AM starts:

It was the third of June,
another sleepy, dusty Delta day.
I was out choppin' cotton
and my brother was balin' hay.

Midway through the song the preacher says the other day he saw a girl with Billy Joe throwing something off the bridge. What was thrown? Anybody from Choctaw Ridge have an answer?

BTW, the real Tallahatchie Bridge collapsed in 1972.
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Showing 2 responses by r_burke

I saw an interview with Bobbie Gentry a few years ago and the question was asked of her. She wouldn't give a straight answer, I got the impression that she enjoyed the controversy surrounding the question. Kinda like the speculation on who was Carly Simon referring to in "You're so Vain"
Rec

Nice to hear from you Mr. Ebersol, how are things at NBC?

According to what I read, the winner of an auction to find this out had to sign a legal document that forbade them from disclosing the information. The winner was Dick Ebersol of NBC. Don't worry I doubt that Carly or her lawyers read these posts.

Her website has a whole series of interviews on the subject

http://www.carlysimon.com/vain/vain.htm