Ode to Billie Joe chords
by Bobbie GentryOriginal Published Key: D Major
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 120 bpm
Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e
Skill Level: Beginner 🟢
Guitar Chords: D7, G7, Am7, C7
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Ode to Billie Joe
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D7
Intro: 4/4 | | % | % | % |
D7 Am7 D7
1. It 'was the third of June an-oth-er sleep-y dust-y del-ta day
D7 Am7 D7
I was out chop-pin cot-ton and my broth-er was bal-in' hay
G7
And at din-ner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
D7 Am7 D7
And Ma-ma hol-lered out the back door y'all re-mem-ber to wipe your feet
G7
And then she said I got some news this morn-in' from Choc-taw Ridge
D7 C7 D7
To-day Bil-ly Joe Mac-Al-lis-ter jumped off the Tal-la-hat-chie Bridge
D7 Am7 D7
2. And Pa-pa said to Ma-ma as he passed around the black-eyed peas
D7 Am7 D7
Well, Bil-ly Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the bis-cuits, please
G7
There's five more acres in the low-er for-ty I've got to plow
D7 Am7 D7
And Ma-ma said it was shame a-bout Bil-ly Joe, any-how
G7
Seems like noth-in' ever comes to no good up on Choc-taw Ridge
D7 C7 D7
And now Bil-ly Joe Mac-Al-lis-ter's jumped off the Tal-la-hat-chie Bridge
D7 Am7 D7
3. And broth-er said he re-col-lected when he and Tom and Bil-lie Joe
D7 Am7 D7
Put a frog down my back at the Car-roll Coun-ty pic-ture show
G7
And wasn't I talk-in' to him af-ter church last Sun-day night?
D7 Am7 D7
I'll have an-oth-er piece of a-pple pie, you know it don't seem right
G7
I saw him at the saw-mill yes-ter-day on Choc-taw Ridge
D7 C7 D7
And now you tell me Bil-lie Joe's jumped off the Tal-la-hat-chie Bridge
D7 Am7 D7
4. And Ma-ma said to me Child, what's hap-pened to your ap-pe-tite?
D7 Am7 D7
I've been cook-in' all morn-ing and you haven't touched a sin-gle bite
G7
That nice young prea-cher, Bro-ther Tay-lor, dropped by to-day
D7 Am7 D7
Said he'd be pleased to have din-ner on Sun-day, oh, by the way
G7
He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choc-taw Ridge
D7 C7 D7
And she and Bil-ly Joe was throw-ing some-thin' off the Tal-la-hat-chie Bridge
D7 Am7 D7
5. A year has come 'n' gone since we heard the news 'bout Bil-ly Joe
D7 Am7 D7
And Bro-ther mar-ried Be-cky Thomp-son, they bought a store in Tu-pe-lo
G7
There was a vi-rus going 'round, Papa caught it and he died last Spring
D7 Am7 D7
And now Ma-ma doesn't seem to wan-na do much of a-ny-thing
G7
And me, I spend a lot of time pick-in' flow-ers up on Choc-taw Ridge
D7 C7 D7
And drop them in-to the mud-dy water off the Tal-la-hat-chie Bridge
D7
| (Bridge) | % | % | 𝄑 |Arrangement Details:
- Key Signature: D Major - 2 sharps (F#, C#)
- Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
- Tempo: Moderately with a beat
- Metronome: ♩ = 120
- Voice Range: D4 - A5
Song Details:
- Songwriter: Bobbie Gentry
- Lyrics Begin: It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day.
- Genre: Country
- Featured Artist: Bobbie Gentry
- Single:
Released: July 1967
B-side: Mississippi Delta - Album: Ode to Billie Joe
Recorded: February – July 28, 1967
Released: August 21, 1967
