Chords for Bobby Gentry - Ode to Billy Joe
Tempo:
112.1 bpm
Chords used:
D
G
Am
C
Em
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[Em] [C] [G] I was born [G#] in Chickasaw County.
When I was six, we moved to another region in Mississippi called the Delta.
[G] And we lived between two rivers.
One was the Yazoo, and the other was the [D] Tallahatchie.
It was the third of [A] June, another [Am] sleepy, dusty Delta [D] day.
I was out chopping cotton [Am] and my brother was [Gm] [D] baling hay.
[G] And at dinnertime we stopped and walked back to the house to eat.
[D] And Mama hollered at the back door, y'all [C] remember to [D] wipe your feet.
And [G] then she said, I got some news this morning from Choctaw Ridge.
[D] Today Billy Joe [C] McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie [D] Bridge.
And Papa said to Mama [Am] as he passed around the black [D]-eyed peas,
Oh, Billy Joe never had liquor [Am] since.
[D] Pass the biscuits, please.
[G] There's five more acres in the lower forty I got to plow.
[D] Mama said it was a shame [G] about Billy Joe [D] anyhow.
Seems [G] like nothing ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge.
[Em] And [D] now Billy Joe [C] McAllister's jumped off the [D] Tallahatchie Bridge.
Brother said he recollected [Am] when he and [D] Tom and Billy Joe
put a frog down my back [Am] at the Carroll County Picture [D] Show.
And [G] wasn't I talking to him after church last Sunday night.
[C#] [D] I'll have another piece of apple pie.
[Am] [D] You know it don't seem right.
[D] I [G] saw him at the sawmill yesterday up on Choctaw Ridge.
[D] And now you tell me [A] Billy Joe's [C] jumped off the [G] [D] Tallahatchie Bridge.
Mama said to me, [Am] child, what's happened to [D] you at the time?
Well, I've been cooking all morning [Am] and you haven't touched a single [D] bite.
[G] That nice young preacher brother Taylor dropped by today.
[C#] [D] I said, I'm pleased to have dinner [G] on Sunday.
[D]
Oh, by the way, [G] he said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge.
[D] She and Billy Joe was throwing [C] something off the [D] Tallahatchie Bridge.
A year has come and [Am] gone since we heard the news [D] about Billy Joe.
Brother married Becky [Am] Thompson.
They bought a store in [D] Tupelo.
There [G] was a virus going around.
Papa caught it and he died last spring.
And [D] now Mama doesn't seem to want to [C] do much of [D] anything.
[G] And me, I spend a lot of time picking flowers up on Choctaw Ridge.
[D] And drop them into the muddy [C] water off the [D] Tallahatchie Bridge.
[G#] [C] [D]
When I was six, we moved to another region in Mississippi called the Delta.
[G] And we lived between two rivers.
One was the Yazoo, and the other was the [D] Tallahatchie.
It was the third of [A] June, another [Am] sleepy, dusty Delta [D] day.
I was out chopping cotton [Am] and my brother was [Gm] [D] baling hay.
[G] And at dinnertime we stopped and walked back to the house to eat.
[D] And Mama hollered at the back door, y'all [C] remember to [D] wipe your feet.
And [G] then she said, I got some news this morning from Choctaw Ridge.
[D] Today Billy Joe [C] McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie [D] Bridge.
And Papa said to Mama [Am] as he passed around the black [D]-eyed peas,
Oh, Billy Joe never had liquor [Am] since.
[D] Pass the biscuits, please.
[G] There's five more acres in the lower forty I got to plow.
[D] Mama said it was a shame [G] about Billy Joe [D] anyhow.
Seems [G] like nothing ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge.
[Em] And [D] now Billy Joe [C] McAllister's jumped off the [D] Tallahatchie Bridge.
Brother said he recollected [Am] when he and [D] Tom and Billy Joe
put a frog down my back [Am] at the Carroll County Picture [D] Show.
And [G] wasn't I talking to him after church last Sunday night.
[C#] [D] I'll have another piece of apple pie.
[Am] [D] You know it don't seem right.
[D] I [G] saw him at the sawmill yesterday up on Choctaw Ridge.
[D] And now you tell me [A] Billy Joe's [C] jumped off the [G] [D] Tallahatchie Bridge.
Mama said to me, [Am] child, what's happened to [D] you at the time?
Well, I've been cooking all morning [Am] and you haven't touched a single [D] bite.
[G] That nice young preacher brother Taylor dropped by today.
[C#] [D] I said, I'm pleased to have dinner [G] on Sunday.
[D]
Oh, by the way, [G] he said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge.
[D] She and Billy Joe was throwing [C] something off the [D] Tallahatchie Bridge.
A year has come and [Am] gone since we heard the news [D] about Billy Joe.
Brother married Becky [Am] Thompson.
They bought a store in [D] Tupelo.
There [G] was a virus going around.
Papa caught it and he died last spring.
And [D] now Mama doesn't seem to want to [C] do much of [D] anything.
[G] And me, I spend a lot of time picking flowers up on Choctaw Ridge.
[D] And drop them into the muddy [C] water off the [D] Tallahatchie Bridge.
[G#] [C] [D]
Key:
D
G
Am
C
Em
D
G
Am
[Em] _ _ _ _ [C] _ [G] I was born [G#] in Chickasaw County.
When I was six, we moved to another region in Mississippi called the Delta.
[G] _ And we lived between two rivers.
One was the Yazoo, _ _ and the other was the [D] Tallahatchie. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ It was the third of [A] June, another [Am] sleepy, dusty Delta [D] day. _
_ _ _ I was out chopping cotton [Am] and my brother was [Gm] [D] baling hay. _
_ _ _ _ [G] And at dinnertime we stopped and walked back to the house to eat. _ _
_ _ _ [D] And Mama hollered at the back door, y'all [C] remember to [D] wipe your feet. _ _
_ _ And [G] then she said, I got some news this morning from Choctaw _ _ Ridge.
_ _ [D] Today Billy Joe [C] McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie [D] _ Bridge. _
_ _ _ _ And Papa said to Mama [Am] as he passed around the black [D]-eyed peas, _ _
_ _ Oh, Billy Joe never had liquor [Am] since.
_ _ [D] Pass the biscuits, please.
_ _ _ [G] There's five more acres in the lower forty I got to plow. _ _
_ _ _ [D] Mama said it was a shame [G] about Billy Joe _ [D] anyhow. _ _
_ _ Seems [G] like nothing ever comes to no good up on Choctaw _ _ Ridge.
_ _ [Em] And [D] now Billy Joe _ [C] McAllister's jumped off the _ [D] Tallahatchie Bridge. _ _
_ _ _ _ Brother said he recollected [Am] when he and [D] Tom and Billy Joe _ _
_ _ _ put a frog down my back [Am] at the Carroll County Picture [D] Show. _ _
_ _ And [G] wasn't I talking to him after church last Sunday night. _ _
_ _ _ [C#] [D] I'll have another piece of apple pie.
_ _ _ [Am] [D] You know it don't seem right.
[D] I _ _ [G] saw him at the sawmill yesterday up on Choctaw _ _ Ridge.
_ _ [D] And now you tell me [A] Billy Joe's [C] jumped off the _ [G] [D] Tallahatchie Bridge. _ _
_ _ _ _ Mama said to me, [Am] child, what's happened to [D] you at the time? _ _
_ _ Well, I've been cooking all morning [Am] and you haven't touched a single [D] bite. _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] That nice young preacher brother Taylor dropped by _ today. _
_ _ _ [C#] [D] I said, I'm pleased to have dinner [G] on Sunday.
_ [D] _ _ _
Oh, by the way, _ [G] he said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge. _ _
_ _ _ [D] She and Billy Joe was throwing [C] something off the [D] Tallahatchie Bridge. _
_ _ _ _ _ A year has come and [Am] gone since we heard the news [D] about Billy Joe. _ _
_ _ _ _ Brother married Becky [Am] Thompson.
They bought a store in [D] Tupelo. _ _ _
_ _ There [G] was a virus going around.
Papa caught it and he died last spring. _
_ _ _ And [D] now Mama doesn't seem to want to [C] do much of _ [D] anything. _ _
_ _ _ [G] And me, I spend a lot of time picking flowers up on Choctaw _ Ridge.
_ [D] And drop them into the muddy [C] water off the _ [D] Tallahatchie Bridge. _ _
[G#] _ [C] _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _
When I was six, we moved to another region in Mississippi called the Delta.
[G] _ And we lived between two rivers.
One was the Yazoo, _ _ and the other was the [D] Tallahatchie. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ It was the third of [A] June, another [Am] sleepy, dusty Delta [D] day. _
_ _ _ I was out chopping cotton [Am] and my brother was [Gm] [D] baling hay. _
_ _ _ _ [G] And at dinnertime we stopped and walked back to the house to eat. _ _
_ _ _ [D] And Mama hollered at the back door, y'all [C] remember to [D] wipe your feet. _ _
_ _ And [G] then she said, I got some news this morning from Choctaw _ _ Ridge.
_ _ [D] Today Billy Joe [C] McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie [D] _ Bridge. _
_ _ _ _ And Papa said to Mama [Am] as he passed around the black [D]-eyed peas, _ _
_ _ Oh, Billy Joe never had liquor [Am] since.
_ _ [D] Pass the biscuits, please.
_ _ _ [G] There's five more acres in the lower forty I got to plow. _ _
_ _ _ [D] Mama said it was a shame [G] about Billy Joe _ [D] anyhow. _ _
_ _ Seems [G] like nothing ever comes to no good up on Choctaw _ _ Ridge.
_ _ [Em] And [D] now Billy Joe _ [C] McAllister's jumped off the _ [D] Tallahatchie Bridge. _ _
_ _ _ _ Brother said he recollected [Am] when he and [D] Tom and Billy Joe _ _
_ _ _ put a frog down my back [Am] at the Carroll County Picture [D] Show. _ _
_ _ And [G] wasn't I talking to him after church last Sunday night. _ _
_ _ _ [C#] [D] I'll have another piece of apple pie.
_ _ _ [Am] [D] You know it don't seem right.
[D] I _ _ [G] saw him at the sawmill yesterday up on Choctaw _ _ Ridge.
_ _ [D] And now you tell me [A] Billy Joe's [C] jumped off the _ [G] [D] Tallahatchie Bridge. _ _
_ _ _ _ Mama said to me, [Am] child, what's happened to [D] you at the time? _ _
_ _ Well, I've been cooking all morning [Am] and you haven't touched a single [D] bite. _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] That nice young preacher brother Taylor dropped by _ today. _
_ _ _ [C#] [D] I said, I'm pleased to have dinner [G] on Sunday.
_ [D] _ _ _
Oh, by the way, _ [G] he said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge. _ _
_ _ _ [D] She and Billy Joe was throwing [C] something off the [D] Tallahatchie Bridge. _
_ _ _ _ _ A year has come and [Am] gone since we heard the news [D] about Billy Joe. _ _
_ _ _ _ Brother married Becky [Am] Thompson.
They bought a store in [D] Tupelo. _ _ _
_ _ There [G] was a virus going around.
Papa caught it and he died last spring. _
_ _ _ And [D] now Mama doesn't seem to want to [C] do much of _ [D] anything. _ _
_ _ _ [G] And me, I spend a lot of time picking flowers up on Choctaw _ Ridge.
_ [D] And drop them into the muddy [C] water off the _ [D] Tallahatchie Bridge. _ _
[G#] _ [C] _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _