Ode To Billy Joe
I can never let June 3rd pass without stopping to think about this song and the impact it had on me and music in general forty one years ago. I'm not sure there had ever been anything like it before and very few since. Probably only Merle Haggard's "Kern River" could compare to its imagery and stunning sense of sudden loss. I'm not sure Bobbie Gentry ever swam Kern River, but she certainly understands why Merle will never do it again.
This link will take you to my defunct personal blog, and an essay I wrote for the song last year at this time.
