How To Play Ode To Billy Joe
by Bobby Gentry

On this page I'd like to explain to you how to play Ode To Billy Joe by Bobby Gentry. Check out my acoustic demo clip and grab some free tabs in the lower right hand menu.

Bobby Gentry wrote, recorded and released this song in 1967 and it was a huge international success winning 4 Grammy Awards out of 8 nominations.

What do you think people asked Gentry about the most about that song? It was what her and Billy Joe threw off the bridge. And the monst common guesses were flowers, a ring, a draft card, a bottle of LSD pills, and an aborted baby.



The actual length of this song was originally 11 verses but was cut to 5 so it would air on radio. And then it was decided to make it an A single and not a B side as was originally planned. The song was turned into a novel and a screenplay in 1976.



The is no lead in this song but what makes it odd, besides the creepy storyline, is that it's played with 3 7th chords. D7, G7 and C7. I dont recall any other song in all of country music that is played with 3 7th chords.

                 

Free Tab Available


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Full Tutorial - .wmv format - 7 min 43 sec

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You can play this with a dn-dn-up-dn-up-dn-up-dn-up pattern pretty much all the way thru the song.

Check out the classic video in the right hand menu and grab the free lyrics and tab as well.

I hope you found this How To Play Ode To Billy Joe by Bobby Gentry useful and informative.

Feel free to tweet about it (bottom of the page) or like it on Facebook from the "Like" button above or below as that is also most welcomed.

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