It was the third of June
Another sleepy dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton
And my brother was balin' hay
At dinner time we stopped
Walked back to the house to eat
Mama hollered out the back door
"Y'all remember to wipe your feet"
Then she said "I got some news
This mornin' from Choctaw Ridge"
"Today Billy Joe Mac Allister
Jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"
Papa said to Mama as he passed
Around the black eyed peas
"Well Billy Joe never had a lick of sense
Pass the biscuits please"
"There's five more
