It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty, delta{1} day.
I was out choppin' cotton an' my brother was balin' hay.
An' at dinner time we stopped an' walked back to the house to eat.
An' mama hollered at the back door, "Y'all remember to wipe your feet."
An' then she said, "I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge{2}.
Today Billie Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge{3}."

An' papa said to mama as he passed around the blackeyed peas,
"Well, Billie Joe never had a lick of sense. Pass the biscuits, please.
There's five more acres in the lower forty{4} I've got to plow."
An' Mama said, "It was shame about Billie Joe, anyhow.
Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge,
An' now Billie Joe MacAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge."

An' brother said he recollected when he an' Tom an' Billie Joe,
Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County{5} pi'ture show.
An' wasn't I talkin' to him after church last Sunday night?
Find more similar lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.com/wPS"I'll have another piece o'apple pie. You know it don't seem right,
I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge,
An' now you tell me Billie Joe's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge."

An' Mama said to me, "Chil', what's happened to your appetite?
I've been cookin' all mornin' an' you haven't touched a single bite.
That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today.
Said he'd 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,
An' she an' Billie Joe was throwin' somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge."{6}

A year has come an' gone since we heard the news 'bout Billie Joe.
Brother married Becky Thompson, they bought a store in Tupelo{7}.
There was a virus goin' 'round, papa caught it an' he died last spring.
An' now mama doesn't seem to wanna do much of anything.
An' me, I spend a lot of time pickin' flowers up on Choctaw Ridge,
An' drop them into the muddy water, off the Tallahatchie Bridge.