Lyrics
(Verse 1)
It was the third of June, another sleepy dusty Delta day
I was out choppin’ cotton and my brother was balin’ hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the back door y’all remember to wipe your feet(Verse 2)
She said Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
The reason for it never was explained(Chorus)
Catch a glimpse of Billie Joe by the river under the bridge
Did you see him (throw) somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
Throw somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge(Verse 3)
Papa said to me, “Put that goddamn stew down right now
There’s more ‘important things right here at hand”
Then he said, “Your sister’s gone out cryin’ and talkin’ about Billie Joe”(Verse 4)
I passed by her room on my way to the barn and she was lyin’ there
I said, “Sis, what are you cryin’ about?”
And she didn’t say nothin’, she just put her head in the pillow(Chorus)
Catch a glimpse of Billie Joe by the river under the bridge
Did you see him (throw) somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
Throw somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge(Verse 5)
She wouldn’t tell me nothin’, just kept on cryin’ and cryin’
She said, “You wouldn’t understand”
Papa went to town to get her some pills to calm her down
Somehow I think Billie Joe would have understood(Chorus)
Catch a glimpse of Billie Joe by the river under the bridge
Did you see him (throw) somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
Throw somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge(Verse 6)
First thing she asked me when she woke up the next mornin’
“Did you see what Billie Joe threw off the Tallahatchie Bridge?”(Chorus)
Catch a glimpse of Billie Joe by the river under the bridge
Did you see him (throw) somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
Throw somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge(Outro)
No, I didn’t see him (throw) nothin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge
If I did I can’t remember what it was
