Lyrics and translation Lester Flatt feat. Earl Scruggs - Ode to Billie Joe
It
was
the
third
of
June,
another
sleepy
dusty
Delta
day
C'était
le
3 juin,
un
autre
jour
poussiéreux
et
endormi
dans
le
delta
I
was
out
choppin'
cotton
and
my
brother
was
bailin'
hay
J'étais
en
train
de
couper
du
coton
et
mon
frère
faisait
des
bottes
de
foin
And
at
dinner
time
we
stopped
and
walked
back
to
the
house
to
eat
Et
à
l'heure
du
dîner,
on
s'est
arrêté
et
on
est
rentré
à
la
maison
pour
manger
And
mama
hollered
at
the
backdoor,
"You
all
remember
to
wipe
your
feet"
Et
maman
a
crié
à
la
porte
arrière
: "N'oubliez
pas
d'essuyer
vos
pieds"
And
then
she
said,
"I
got
some
news
this
morning
from
Choctaw
Wridge
Puis
elle
a
dit
: "J'ai
eu
des
nouvelles
ce
matin
de
Choctaw
Wridge"
Today
Billie
Joe
Macallister
jumped
off
the
Tallahatchie
Bridge"
Aujourd'hui,
Billie
Joe
Macallister
a
sauté
du
pont
de
Tallahatchie"
Papa
said
to
mama
as
he
passed
around
the
black
eyed
peas
Papa
a
dit
à
maman
en
passant
les
haricots
noirs
:
"Billie
Joe
never
had
a
lick
of
sense,
pass
the
biscuits
please"
"Billie
Joe
n'a
jamais
eu
un
brin
de
bon
sens,
passe
les
biscuits,
s'il
te
plaît"
"There's
five
more
acres
in
the
lower
forty
I
got
to
plow"
"Il
y
a
cinq
acres
de
plus
dans
les
quarante
hectares
du
bas
que
j'ai
à
labourer"
And
mama
said,
"It
was
a
shame
about
Billie
Joe
anyhow
Et
maman
a
dit
: "C'était
dommage
pour
Billie
Joe
de
toute
façon"
Seems
like
nothing
ever
comes
to
no
good
upon
Choctaw
Wridge
On
dirait
que
rien
ne
se
passe
jamais
de
bon
sur
Choctaw
Wridge"
Now
Billie
Joe
Macallister
jumped
off
the
Tallahatchie
Bridge"
Maintenant,
Billie
Joe
Macallister
a
sauté
du
pont
de
Tallahatchie"
Brother
said
he
recollected
when
he
and
Tom
and
Billie
Joe
Mon
frère
a
dit
qu'il
se
souvenait
quand
lui,
Tom
et
Billie
Joe
Put
a
frog
down
my
back
at
the
Caroll
County
picture
show
M'avaient
mis
une
grenouille
dans
le
dos
au
cinéma
de
Caroll
County
And
wasn't
I
talkin'
to
him
after
church
last
Sunday
night?
Et
est-ce
que
je
ne
lui
parlais
pas
après
l'église
dimanche
dernier
?
I'll
have
another
piece
of
apple
pie,
you
know
it
just
don't
seem
right
Je
vais
prendre
un
autre
morceau
de
tarte
aux
pommes,
tu
sais,
ça
ne
me
semble
pas
juste
I
saw
him
at
sawmill
yesterday
on
Choctaw
Wridge
Je
l'ai
vu
à
la
scierie
hier
à
Choctaw
Wridge
Now
you
tell
me
Billie
Joe's
jumped
off
the
Tallahatchie
Bridge
Maintenant,
tu
me
dis
que
Billie
Joe
a
sauté
du
pont
de
Tallahatchie
?
Mama
said
to
me,
"Child
what's
happened
to
your
appetite?"
Maman
m'a
dit
: "Ma
chérie,
qu'est-il
arrivé
à
ton
appétit
?"
I've
been
cooking
all
morning
and
you
haven't
touched
a
single
bite
Je
cuisine
depuis
ce
matin
et
tu
n'as
pas
touché
une
seule
bouchée
And
nice
young
preacher
brother
Tailor
dropped
by
today
Et
le
jeune
et
gentil
frère
prédicateur
Tailor
est
passé
aujourd'hui
Said
he'd
be
pleased
to
have
dinner
on
Sunday,
oh,
by
the
way
Il
a
dit
qu'il
serait
ravi
de
dîner
dimanche,
oh,
au
fait
Said
he
saw
a
girl
that
looked
a
lot
like
you
upon
Choctaw
Wridge
Il
a
dit
qu'il
avait
vu
une
fille
qui
te
ressemblait
beaucoup
à
Choctaw
Wridge
She
and
Billie
Joe
was
throwin'
something
off
the
Tallahatchie
Bridge
Elle
et
Billie
Joe
jetaient
quelque
chose
du
pont
de
Tallahatchie
Year's
come
and
gone
since
we
heard
the
news
about
Billie
Joe
Des
années
ont
passé
depuis
que
nous
avons
eu
des
nouvelles
de
Billie
Joe
Brother
married
Becky
Thompson
and
they
bought
a
store
in
Tupelo
Mon
frère
a
épousé
Becky
Thompson
et
ils
ont
acheté
un
magasin
à
Tupelo
There
was
a
virus
goin'
'round,
papa
caught
it
and
he
died
last
spring
Il
y
a
eu
un
virus
qui
a
circulé,
papa
l'a
attrapé
et
il
est
mort
au
printemps
dernier
Now
mama
doesn't
seem
to
want
to
do
much
of
anything
Maintenant,
maman
ne
semble
plus
vouloir
faire
grand-chose
And
me
I
spent
a
lot
of
time
pickin'
flowers
upon
Choctaw
Wridge
Et
moi,
j'ai
passé
beaucoup
de
temps
à
cueillir
des
fleurs
à
Choctaw
Wridge
And
dropped
'em
into
the
muddy
water
off
the
Tallahatchie
Bridge
Et
je
les
ai
jetées
dans
l'eau
boueuse
du
pont
de
Tallahatchie
Rate the translation
1
Nashville Cats
2 Orange Blossom Special
3 The Atlantic Coastal Line
4 Going Across the Sea
5 Roust-A-Bout
6 Southbound
7 Troublesome Waters
8 No Mother in This World
9 I'm Gonna Ride That Steamboat
10 It Ain't Me Babe
11 Mr. Tambourine Man
12 Maggie's Farm
13 Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town
14 I Walk the Line
15 Ode to Billie Joe
16 God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign
17 Hello Stranger
18 My Wandering Boy
19 I'm Walking With Him
20 When Papa Played the Dobro
21 Jimmie Brown, The Newsboy
22 The Good Things (Outweigh the Bad)
23 Wabash Cannonball
24 Rose Conelly
25 Seattle Town
26 Ten Miles From Natchez
27 The Boys From Tennessee
28 The Last Public Hanging in West Virginia
29 Houston
30 I'll Be on That Good Road Someday
31 Starlight on the Rails
32 Memphis
33 Old Leather Britches
34 Paul and Silas
35 Liberty
36 Spanish Two-Step
37 Lonesome Ruben
38 Tammy's Song
39 Jazzing
40 John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man
41 Pick Along
42 Highway's End
43 The Chase
44 Reunion
45 The Barrow Gang Will Get You Little Man
46 The Story of Bonnie and Clyde
47 Lady Lessons
48 Jethro's a Powerful Man
49 Vittles
50 One Too Many Mornings
51 Tennessee Wagner
52 Soldier's Joy
53 Sally Goodin
54 Old Joe Clark
55 No Hiding Place Down Here
56 Golden Slippers
57 California Up Tight Band
58 East Bound Train
59 Four Strong Winds
60 Why Can't I Find Myself With You
61 Buddy Don't You Roll So Slow
62 Bummin' An Old Freight Train
63 A Faded Red Ribbon
64 Father's Table Grace
65 Working It Out
66 You've Been Fooling My Baby
67 Detroit City
68 Confessing
69 Bill Cheatham
70 Evelina
71 Get-Away
72 Bang, You're Alive
73 A Picture of Bonnie
74 Another Ride With Clyde
75 Critters
76 Back Home USA
77 Elly's Spring Song
78 A Long Talk With That Boy
79 Georgia Shuffle
80 Billy in the Lowground
81 Black Mountain Rag
82 Foggy Mountain Special
83 Train Number 1262
84 The Last Thing on My Mind
85 Universal Soldier
86 The Times They Are A-Changin'
87 The Soldier's Return
88 What a Great Doctor Granny Is
89 Theme From Beverly Hills
90 Theme From the Beverly Hillbillies
91 Steamboat Whistle Blues
92 Sally Don't You Grieve
93 Rock, Salt & Nails
94 See Bonnie Die, See Clyde Die
95 Rainy Day Women
96 Please Don't Wake Me
97 Old Folks
98 Poor Rebel Soldier
99 Old Old Fiddler
100 Mama, You Been on My Mind
101 Long Road to Houston
102 Loafer's Glory
103 Maggie Blues
104 Lost All My Money
105 Nothin' to It
106 Love or Money
107 Last Train to Clarksville
108 It Was Only the Wind
109 Like a Rolling Stone
110 If I Were a Carpenter
111 Intro
112 I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
113 I'd Like to Say a Word for Texas
114 I Had a Dream
115 Gentle on My Mind
116 Have You Seen My Dear Companion
117 Green Acres
118 Georgia Buck
119 Gonna Have Myself a Ball
120 Going Back to Harlan
121 Going Up Cripple Creek
122 Folsom Prison Blues
123 For Lovin' Me
124 Fireball (instrumental)
125 Down Yonder
126 Catch the Wind
127 Colours
128 Close
129 Cannonball Blues
130 Chicken Reel
131 Cheyenne
132 Big Shoes to Fill
133 Birds and the Bees
134 Bile Them Cabbage Down
135 A Stone That Builders Refused
136 12 and 35
137 Amber Tresses (Tied in Blue)
138 Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
2 Orange Blossom Special
3 The Atlantic Coastal Line
4 Going Across the Sea
5 Roust-A-Bout
6 Southbound
7 Troublesome Waters
8 No Mother in This World
9 I'm Gonna Ride That Steamboat
10 It Ain't Me Babe
11 Mr. Tambourine Man
12 Maggie's Farm
13 Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town
14 I Walk the Line
15 Ode to Billie Joe
16 God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign
17 Hello Stranger
18 My Wandering Boy
19 I'm Walking With Him
20 When Papa Played the Dobro
21 Jimmie Brown, The Newsboy
22 The Good Things (Outweigh the Bad)
23 Wabash Cannonball
24 Rose Conelly
25 Seattle Town
26 Ten Miles From Natchez
27 The Boys From Tennessee
28 The Last Public Hanging in West Virginia
29 Houston
30 I'll Be on That Good Road Someday
31 Starlight on the Rails
32 Memphis
33 Old Leather Britches
34 Paul and Silas
35 Liberty
36 Spanish Two-Step
37 Lonesome Ruben
38 Tammy's Song
39 Jazzing
40 John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man
41 Pick Along
42 Highway's End
43 The Chase
44 Reunion
45 The Barrow Gang Will Get You Little Man
46 The Story of Bonnie and Clyde
47 Lady Lessons
48 Jethro's a Powerful Man
49 Vittles
50 One Too Many Mornings
51 Tennessee Wagner
52 Soldier's Joy
53 Sally Goodin
54 Old Joe Clark
55 No Hiding Place Down Here
56 Golden Slippers
57 California Up Tight Band
58 East Bound Train
59 Four Strong Winds
60 Why Can't I Find Myself With You
61 Buddy Don't You Roll So Slow
62 Bummin' An Old Freight Train
63 A Faded Red Ribbon
64 Father's Table Grace
65 Working It Out
66 You've Been Fooling My Baby
67 Detroit City
68 Confessing
69 Bill Cheatham
70 Evelina
71 Get-Away
72 Bang, You're Alive
73 A Picture of Bonnie
74 Another Ride With Clyde
75 Critters
76 Back Home USA
77 Elly's Spring Song
78 A Long Talk With That Boy
79 Georgia Shuffle
80 Billy in the Lowground
81 Black Mountain Rag
82 Foggy Mountain Special
83 Train Number 1262
84 The Last Thing on My Mind
85 Universal Soldier
86 The Times They Are A-Changin'
87 The Soldier's Return
88 What a Great Doctor Granny Is
89 Theme From Beverly Hills
90 Theme From the Beverly Hillbillies
91 Steamboat Whistle Blues
92 Sally Don't You Grieve
93 Rock, Salt & Nails
94 See Bonnie Die, See Clyde Die
95 Rainy Day Women
96 Please Don't Wake Me
97 Old Folks
98 Poor Rebel Soldier
99 Old Old Fiddler
100 Mama, You Been on My Mind
101 Long Road to Houston
102 Loafer's Glory
103 Maggie Blues
104 Lost All My Money
105 Nothin' to It
106 Love or Money
107 Last Train to Clarksville
108 It Was Only the Wind
109 Like a Rolling Stone
110 If I Were a Carpenter
111 Intro
112 I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
113 I'd Like to Say a Word for Texas
114 I Had a Dream
115 Gentle on My Mind
116 Have You Seen My Dear Companion
117 Green Acres
118 Georgia Buck
119 Gonna Have Myself a Ball
120 Going Back to Harlan
121 Going Up Cripple Creek
122 Folsom Prison Blues
123 For Lovin' Me
124 Fireball (instrumental)
125 Down Yonder
126 Catch the Wind
127 Colours
128 Close
129 Cannonball Blues
130 Chicken Reel
131 Cheyenne
132 Big Shoes to Fill
133 Birds and the Bees
134 Bile Them Cabbage Down
135 A Stone That Builders Refused
136 12 and 35
137 Amber Tresses (Tied in Blue)
138 Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
Attention! Feel free to leave feedback.