Why did Billy Joe jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge....

chic said:
But her father said, "Billie Joe never licked a cent" so maybe he didn't work at all?
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He didn't have "a lick of sense", though I do like "lick a cent"....maybe to make it go further.

I wonder if the girl and Billie Joe had plans to flee what seems like a dead-end situation some day and make a better life somewhere else. When Billie Joe gives into despair and jumps off the bridge, she knows that she will never leave the farm and mourns by throwing flowers off the bridge.
 

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jujube said:
He didn't have "a lick of sense", though I do like "lick a cent"....maybe to make it go further.

I wonder if the girl and Billie Joe had plans to flee what seems like a dead-end situation some day and make a better life somewhere else. When Billie Joe gives into despair and jumps off the bridge, she knows that she will never leave the farm and mourns by throwing flowers off the bridge.
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Thanks. Someone else pointed out my error as well. Billie Joe isn't the only one without a lick of sense.

IDK about their relationship. If he didn't have a job and she had no marketable skills ? I need to know what state the Tallahatchie bridge is in and see what job opportunities there were for unskilled people back in 1967. I wonder how old they were too, I think of them as teens but they could have been much older. :unsure:
 
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... they were on the bridge together. The preacher saw them throw "something" off the bridge.
It was a pistol they threw off the bridge. Billie Joe was going to rob the sawmill but she talked him out of it.

After returning to the sawmill, Billie Joe changed his mind again and jumped off the bridge to retrieve the pistol.
Unfortunately as the case may be, Billie Joe got caught in the swift river current and carried away.

The Tallachatchie bridge isn't high enough for someone to commit suicide.
Last I heard, Billie Joe McAllister was working in a paint & body shop in Tupelo.

iu
 
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helenbacque said:
The preacher was nearsighted. What he saw was her pushing billy joe off the bridge. Guilt makes her
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Yes, this is what I was saying yesterday, too, @helenbacque , after reading the lyrics
more closely. All it says is that she was acting strangely and was at the bridge with him
that day. There isn't even a hint that they were a couple... people just jumped to that
conclusion all these years.
 
Naturally said:
... they were on the bridge together. The preacher saw them throw "something" off the bridge.
It was a pistol they threw off the bridge. Billie Joe was going to rob the sawmill but she talked him out of it.

After returning to the sawmill, Billie Joe changed his mind again and jumped off the bridge to retrieve the pistol.
Unfortunately as the case may be, Billie Joe got caught in the swift river current and carried away.

The Tallachatchie bridge isn't high enough for someone to commit suicide.
Last I heard, Billie Joe McAllister was working in a paint & body shop in Tupelo.

iu
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I kind of like your theory, Naturally. It could very well have been a pistol they threw off the bridge after using it too. After all, the song doesn't tell us if there was an armed robbery in the area the night before.
 
The Tallahatchie Bridge is located in Choctaw Ridge, Webster County, MS. It costs $16.00 per adult to visit the bridge. Because of the song.

I'm going to see if there's a coroner's report on any young male suicides in the two years prior to 1967. If I find anything, will let you know.
tallahatchie bridge.jpg
 
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Billie Joe and the girl were standing there throwing their McDonald's wrappers and cups over the railing when Billie Joe was abducted by aliens from the planet Zarwhock who were residing temporarily under the bridge. He's now living on their planet and is an influencer on their version of Tik-Tok. He married a nice Zarwhocki girl and they have three cute little slugs. One is a boy and the other two aren't.

He often thinks about her and what might have been. He has to be careful never to mention her, though, as his wife is very jealous and might devour him if she loses her temper.
 
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