| Bobbie Gentry – Ode To Billie Joe Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The bad movie had nothing to do with the original song (think Godfather III). In the time the song seems to be taking place, there were no Oprah’s or Dr.Phil’s. People just didn’t delve into the “meaning of life”at the table. Adults talked about adult things and kids were not to talk about adult subjects.When Bobbie Gentry was asked about the meaning of the song, she pretty much said it is what it is.(Not unlike Dylan said about HIS lyrics.In the Deep South, farm life was harsh. People were divided into useful (Brother Taylor), and useless (Billy Joe). There was no place for in between, no reason to spend a lot of time on the “useless”. When this song first came out, there was an immediate association with Hamlet’s Ophelia with references to water and flowers. (Were people more literate in ’67?) Ophelia was driven mad with the empty love of Hamlet and the death of her father. Ophelia’s Flower speech from Hamlet: "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that's for thoughts," said Ophelia to her brother Laertes. "There's fennel [empty fulfillment] for you, and columbines [foolishness]. There's rue [bitterness] for you, and here's some for me; we may call it herb of grace o' Sundays. O, you must wear your rue with a difference. There's a daisy. I would give you some violets [humility] , but they withered all when my father died." To me the song is about the quiet pain in the human heart, and how little it means to those around us. |
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