# It's Billie Joe McCallister Day 2017 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 3, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013 "2017-06-03T16:30:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/21 "2017-06-04T17:53:49Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > In honor of this day, lets all go down to the Tallahatchie bridge and throw stuff off there. Any one know if there is any sort of celebration planned for July 10th at the bridge for the song’s semicentennial? (Song was recorded on July 10th, 1967.) Any Dopers in the area? ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/22 "2017-06-04T20:10:33Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > In honor of this day, lets all go down to the Tallahatchie bridge and throw stuff off there. And then let’s take turns guessing what was thrown. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/23 "2017-06-04T20:25:12Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > So doesn’t she mean “Papa caught it and he died **this** spring”? Why doesn’t she say so? I suspect the “mistake” may be deliberate, to show that she’s still upset about Billie Joe and her papa. ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/24 "2017-06-04T21:16:01Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Ok, if we put Ode To Billie Joe in one corner, and Alice’s Restaurant Massacree in another, and rang a bell and they came out swinging…what do you think would happen? Alice’s Restaurant for the win. Billie Joe has whiners and suicidal youth. Alice’s Restaurant has mother-rapers, father-stabbers, father-rapers…,and litterers. ---
**Author:** ![LicketySplit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@LicketySplit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LicketySplit)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/25 "2017-06-04T21:18:54Z")
Eww… Never liked that song. Something about it always sorta creeped me out. Depressed me. I cannot quite put my finger on what it was. To the point that as soon as I could I would flip the channel as soon as it came on. ( a side note…the lyrics make no sense, I once read. And there is a huge plot hole in the sotry. I forget what it was.) Mind you, I am a music lover. A musician. Grew-up on classic rock and Mowtown. Love Jazz and Classical nowadays. But, man, that song…it’s a very strange and visceral effect it has on me. So I stay away from it as much as possible. I cannot help but wonder if anybody else can relate to my feelings on this issue? Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/26 "2017-06-04T22:11:16Z")
> [@LicketySplit](#): > > Something about it always sorta creeped me out. Depressed me. I cannot quite put my finger on what it was. Perhaps the fact that it’s a song about death and dashed dreams? I’m pretty sure everyone gets that it’s a depressing song. However, people sometimes like listening to depressing songs (which goes far to explain, say, Mellencamp’s career). My personal theory is that melancholy songs appeal to people who are already a little down, suffering from a touch of free-floating sadness, because it gives a focus to that feeling, then releases it when the song is over. It’s cathartic. (Depressing songs can also be musically beautiful, and appeal to people for that reason alone. I can’t really say that applies in this case, though.) Of course, that means it’s probably not the best song to listen to when you’re feeling cheerful. (Unless you enjoy a darkly comic take on it, like this thread.) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/27 "2017-06-04T22:20:37Z")
> [@digs](#): > > That’s it – Billie Joe faked his death and ended up at Woodstock! > > He now runs a locovore bacon, pesto & weed shop in the Lower Haight. I heard he entered the merchant marine, and was last employed on the _Edmund Fitzgerald_… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/28 "2017-06-04T22:43:35Z")
So THAT’S what covfefe was all about! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/29 "2017-06-05T00:56:28Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > And then let’s take turns guessing what was thrown. They threw covfefe down there. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/30 "2017-06-05T01:29:29Z")
I believe what was thrown was one Thanksgiving’s worth of garbage. There was already one pile down there. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/31 "2017-06-05T01:43:37Z")
> [@LicketySplit](#): > > Eww… > > Never liked that song. > > Something about it always sorta creeped me out. Depressed me. I cannot quite put my finger on what it was. To the point that as soon as I could I would flip the channel as soon as it came on. > ( a side note…the lyrics make no sense, I once read. And there is a huge plot hole in the sotry. I forget what it was.) > > Mind you, I am a music lover. A musician. Grew-up on classic rock and Mowtown. Love Jazz and Classical nowadays. But, man, that song…it’s a very strange and visceral effect it has on me. So I stay away from it as much as possible. > > I cannot help but wonder if anybody else can relate to my feelings on this issue? > > Cheers. **OtBJ** is in the Southern Gothic tradition; you’re _supposed_ to be creeped out by it. I get the same feeling watching “The Beguiled (Eastwood’s version).” The accompaniment is almost claustrophobic: claw-hammer, gut string guitar; deceptively simple acoustic bass line; Greek chorus string section/arrangement–the entire song sounds like every person playing it (and Gentry’s singing) is hypnotized and falling asleep while playing decrepit 100 year old instruments just bought at a pawn shop. The huge plot hole is probably the two (three?) verses Miss Gentry wrote/recorded that would have made the song 7 minutes long, so they were not included. No matter: in a Southern Gothic, you get a piece here, a piece there, Piece 1 doesn’t seem to fit Piece 2 because all the pieces are randomly placed and you have to assemble the story in your head. If you’re a “happy” person, it’ll probably depress you. If you’re a more cynical type 😉 , it’s be-yoo-ti-ful. Any idea on the ETA of those biscuits? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/32 "2017-06-05T02:17:57Z")
> [@LicketySplit](#): > > Eww… > > Never liked that song. > > Something about it always sorta creeped me out. Depressed me. I cannot quite put my finger on what it was. To the point that as soon as I could I would flip the channel as soon as it came on. > ( a side note…the lyrics make no sense, I once read. And there is a huge plot hole in the sotry. I forget what it was.) > > Mind you, I am a music lover. A musician. Grew-up on classic rock and Mowtown. Love Jazz and Classical nowadays. But, man, that song…it’s a very strange and visceral effect it has on me. So I stay away from it as much as possible. > > I cannot help but wonder if anybody else can relate to my feelings on this issue? > > Cheers. I agree it is a very creepy song. So I relate to that part. But I really like it, and I really like hearing it. I think it’s very well done–the combination of the tune, the accompaniment, the grrrraaaaadddduuuuual unfolding of the reality of the situation, and most of all the banality of the chitchat about Billie Joe at the dinner table. So sad, too bad, life’s funny that way, well well, on to whatever’s next, and there the narrator sits, frozen by the news–and nobody in the family much notices or cares… Brr. An outstanding achievement in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Toledo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@Toledo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toledo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/33 "2017-06-05T02:51:44Z")
Alice’s Restaurant? Many moons ago I was a juror in a civil case which involved lots of “8 X 10 glossies with circles and arrows” and we were passing them around the jury room when one of the guys started humming the Alice’s Restaurant song. I few chuckles later 4-5 of us were doing that, much to the bewilderment of the other jurors. We explained it to them later, and they chuckled about it also. You sorta had to be there and marvel at the spontaneous nature of it. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/34 "2017-06-05T04:44:43Z")
They may have thought it was a movement. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/35 "2017-06-05T04:50:17Z")
And then there’s this [http://www.madmusic.com/song\_details.aspx?SongID=7764](http://www.madmusic.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=7764) ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/36 "2017-06-05T06:20:24Z")
I love this song and sometimes will sing the whole thing. (I randomly sing stuff a lot, especially at work). Does anyone remember the movie and book? The movie starrien Robby Benson and Glynnis Johns, i think. It came out in about '75. I saw it at a theatre and I owned the book and read it a couple of times before I lost it. About the “last Spring” thing, I think it’s a matter of “scanning”. You don’t say “past Spring” you’d say “this past Spring” and that doesn’t fit into the line. Try singing it. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/37 "2017-06-05T13:52:20Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > And then there’s this > > [Ode To Billy Joel by Slap Happy](http://www.madmusic.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=7764) OK, I actually LOL’ed as I [del]read[/del] sang those lyrics in my head. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/38 "2017-06-05T14:08:13Z")
I tried to find a sung version rather than just the lyrics but you can’t google the one without getting 80 million hits for the original. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/39 "2017-06-05T14:44:49Z")
The truth can now be told. They was throwing the only copies of _Big_ with the alternate ending, the Berenstein Bears books, and the film \*Shazzam! \*with Sinbad. If you go there, and dig down in the muck, maybe these mysteries can finally be solved. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013/40 "2017-06-05T18:48:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think for a lot of people, Summer begins on June 1 or thereabouts. > > Summer: June- Aug > Fall: Sept-Nov > Winter: Dec-Feb > Spring: Mar-May For meteorologists. Astronomers go by the solstices and equinoxes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-billie-joe-mccallister-day-2017/788013.md?page=3)