I tied these three daisies,
Knotted by the stems;
Just like the knot
That joins the blades of
Guilt, sorrow and emptiness
That slash at my heart,
With every breath.
I picked these flowers
Up on Choctaw Ridge!
They’re for both of you;
You and your daddy!
He loves you!
Make sure you know that!
I love you too!
Try not to hate me.
Not your fault Billy
I never blamed you!
I was so young; still am!
That was my sin
The sin that led to
A greater sin;
One, I’m not sure
I can live with for long
It would be easier to end it
Like you did Billy
I’d be free, together
With you both;
Muddy waters run deep
Beneath the Tallahatchie bridge
Deeper than the pain
Cleaner than my soul
Daddy is gone and Mama
Won’t be long now
No one would ever know
You lived
And they must!
It is not that I seek redemption
I was more than a girl
I was a mother
And you were more
Than a mistake
Sometime, when
It can’t hurt anybody
Else but me;
I’ll tell them the truth
I’ll join you then!
I’ll follow these flowers
From this bridge;
The Tallahatchie,
Where I threw away
One life and destroyed three.
Wait for me babies.
Comments
Dynamaso | February 23, 2009 - 23:50
Wow, another nice crack at the IP. Well done.
I've been researching the song in an attempt to get a feel for what Ms Gentry might have been trying to convey. There is a lot of speculation (message boards full, in fact) but very little in the way of an answer. She said the song was more about the casual way the family discusses Billies' demise rather than the mystery surrounding what was thrown from the bridge. It has given me much food for thought.
threeleafshamrock | February 24, 2009 - 00:19
Thanks D. I wish she threw herself off halfway through; it would have saved a lot of bother LOL. ;)
Dynamaso | February 24, 2009 - 00:36
LOL Indeed it would have. Coincidentally, in Sinead O'Connor's version of the song, a baby is heard to cry as the mystery item is thrown from the bridge. But then, in the movie made in the mid-70's, the item was a rag doll. Billie Joe kills himself after a drunken homosexual affair.
I'm trying to write a version of the story that moves away from either of these ideas. Hopefully it will be up today.
Oh, and my name is Mark - pleased to meet you :)
threeleafshamrock | February 24, 2009 - 01:05
Please to know you Mark, I'm Chris! Look forward to reading your version of this classic. I'm Irish, so I know of Sinead O'Connor (not that you have to be Irish to know her). She's a nutter but a beautiful one with the voice of an angel. Looking forward to discovering more of your work. ;)
Chris
Dynamaso | February 24, 2009 - 02:05
G'day Chris, I'm an Aussie but don't hold that against me. LOL Looking forward to reading some more of yours as well.
threeleafshamrock | February 24, 2009 - 22:09
Thanks for the cherry folks ;)