Ode To Billie Joe Chords
by Bobbie Gentry27,834 views, added to favorites 1,616 times
As Bobbie Gentry played it. Tablature of the main Riff. Includes full chord legend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJZ_ViDADOE Live 1968 video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaRacIzZSPo.Was this info helpful?
| Difficulty: | intermediate |
|---|---|
| Tuning: | E A D G B E |
| Key: | D |
| Capo: | no capo |
Chords
Strumming
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Song: Ode to Billie Joe
Artist: Bobbie Gentry
Composer: Bobbie Gentry
Tabbed by: DJ 12th May 2014
Played fingerstyle, the thumb picks the bass note of
the chords before an upstroke with the other fingers,
keeping the rhythm clipped and syncopated.
D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
e|-----0---0-----0---0--|-----0---0-----0---0--|
B|-----3---3-----3---3--|-----3---3-----3---3--|
G|-----5---5-----5---5--|-----5---5-----5---5--|
D|-----4----------------|-----4----------------|
A|--5-------------------|--5-------------------|
E|------------5----5----|------------5----5----|
On the original record Bobbie sometimes skips some
of the Am7's and just stays on the D9 to D9/A riff.
IGNORE THE CHORD BOX DIAGRAMS that the website
displays, they are generated automatically from a
generic database and often don't show the best
options for a particular chord progression. Just use
the voicings suggested in the text column numbers.
D9 = x54530 G7 = 3x343x or 3x34xx (with no 5th)
D9/A = 5x4530 C7 = x32310
Am7 = 505550 D7 = x5453x
N.C. = A pause with no chords
Please take a second to scroll down to the bottom of
the page and select a star rating for my tab, thanks
=====================================================
[Intro]
D9 D9/A D9 D9/A D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
| / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / |
[Verse 1]
D9 D9/A
It was the third of June,
(Am7) D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
Another sleepy, dusty, Delta day,
D9 D9/A
I was out chopping cotton,
Am7 D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
And my brother was bailing hay,
G7
And at dinner time we stopped,
G7 G7 G7
And walked back to the house to eat,
D9 D9/A
And Momma hollered out the back door,
(Am7) D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
"Y'all re - member to wipe your feet!"
G7 G7
And then she said, "I got some news this mornin'...
G7 G7 D9 N.C.
From Choctaw Ridge, ...today Billie Joe MacAllister
C7 N.C. D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
...Jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge!"
[Verse 2]
D9
And Poppa said to Momma,
D9/A Am7 D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
As he passed around the black-eyed peas,
D9 D9/A
"Well, Billie Joe never had a lick of sense!
Am7 D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
...Pass the biscuits, please!
G7
There's five more acres...
G7 G7 G7
In the lower forty I got to plough!"
D9 D9/A
And Momma said it was shame...
(Am7) D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
A - bout Billie Joe any - how,
G7 G7
Seems like nothing ever comes to no good...
G7 G7
Up on Choctaw Ridge,
D9 N.C.
And now Billie Joe MacAllister's...
C7 N.C. D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
Jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
[Verse 3]
D9 D9/A
And brother said he recol - lected...
(Am7) D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
When he and Tom and Billie Joe,
D9 D9/A
Put a frog down my back...
(Am7) D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
At the Carroll County Picture Show,
G7 G7
And, "Wasn't I talkin' to him after church,
G7 G7
...Last Sunday night?
D9 D9/A
I'll have a - nother piece of apple pie!
(Am7) D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
You know, it don't seem right,
G7 G7
I saw him at the sawmill yester - day,
G7 G7
Up on Choctaw Ridge,
D9
And now you tell me Billie Joe's...
C7 D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
Jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge!"
[Verse 4]
D9
Momma said to me,
D9/A Am7 D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
"Child, what's happened to your appe- tite?"
D9
Why, I've been cookin' all morning,
D9/A Am7 D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
And you haven't touched a single bite,
G7 G7
That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor,
G7 G7
Dropped by to - day,
D9 D9/A (Am7)
Said he'd be pleased to have dinner on Sunday!
D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
Oh, ...by the way,
G7 G7
He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you,
G7 G7
Up on Choctaw Ridge,
D9 N.C.
And she, and Billie Joe, was throwing somethin'...
C7 N.C. D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
Off the Tallahatchie Bridge!"
[Verse 5]
D9 D9/A Am7
A year has come and gone since we heard the news...
D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
...'bout Billie Joe,
D9 D9/A
Brother married Becky Thompson,
Am7 D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
They bought a store in Tupe - lo,
G7
There was a virus going 'round,
G7 G7 G7
Poppa caught it and he died last Spring,
D9 D9/A (Am7)
And now Momma doesn't seem to wanna do much...
D9 D9/A D9 D9/A
...Of any - thing,
G7 G7
And me, I spend a lot of time pickin' flowers...
G7 G7
...Up on Choctaw Ridge,
D9 N.C.
And drop them into the muddy water...
C7 N.C. D9 D9/A
Off the Tallahatchie Bridge
[Coda]
D9 D9/A D9 D9/A D7
| / / / / | / / / / | / ||
X×
Ode To Billie Joe – Bobbie Gentry
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25 comments
Great work!
On the second video, it looks like she's adding the B to the G7 chord with her little finger by changing between 3x303x and 3x343x, don't you think?
+3
This is a perfect example of songs here that get voted down for being too accurate/difficult.
I do Am7 as 50555(5) with the thumb and G7 as 320031
rock on
+2
As you realise now, I didn't suggest the D9 in the first position, I guess you've been following the pop-up boxes all this time? I had stated clearly in my header information, IGNORE the pop-up chord boxes, then I show how to play the correct shapes underneath that, and also again in the intro tablature.
UG's software automatically recognises chord names in a submitted document, then they get highlighted and a generic selection of options is applied automatically from their data base.
I restated the pop-up boxes are nothing to do with me in the long reply above, the pop-up chord boxes are not a smart system, there's no brains behind selecting the best option in any given chord sequence, so that's why I always add a chord legend at the top with my own recommendations.
I still believe it's a D9, but you could play the same shape I suggested and just not pick the top E string, and then you've got your D7 but in the right position. If you cut and paste the video links that I mention in the header into your browser, you can see Bobbie Gentry playing the song, and it makes even more sense then.
All the best, DJ
Thanks for the 5* rating BTW
+2
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