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, Yall remember to wipe your feet Then she said, I got some news this mornin from Choctaw Ridge Today Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Papa said to Mama as he passed around the black-eyed peas Well, Billie Joe never had a lick o sense, pass the biscuits, please Theres five more acres in the lower forty Ive got to plow And Mama said it was a shame about Billie Joe anyhow Seems like nothin ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge And now Billie Joe McAllisters jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Mama said to me, Child whats happened to your appetite? I been cookin all mornin and you havent touched single bite That nice young preacher Brother Taylor dropped by today Said hed be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh by the way, He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge, And she and Billie Joe was throwin somethin off the Tallahatchie Bridge. A year has come and gone since I heard the news bout Billie Joe. Brother married Becky Thompson, they bought a store in Tupelo. There was a virus goin round, papa caught it and he died last spring And now Mama doesnt seem to want to do much of anything. And, me, I spend a lot of time picking flowers up on Choctaw Ridge And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge..
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 01:14:38 +0000