I tried to post earlier, originally in reply to brink, but somehow only the quoted part got posted and my entire message was omitted, so I'm trying again.
Yes, as Janice says, it was the rag doll that was thrown off the bridge in the movie. I believe that it was supposed to represent the end of childhood and innocence for both the girl and Billy Joe. If I recall correctly, the sexual encounter Billy Joe had with the man was consensual and thus the cause of Billy Joe's guilt and confusion regarding his sexual identity, ultimately resulting in his suicide plunge off of the bridge
As far as the song goes, It's just my opinion, but I always felt that Bobby Gentry might never have actually had anything specific in mind when she wrote the line about her and Billy throwing something off the bridge. I think she left it open in order to allow for the listeners to insert their own ideas and interpretations thereby turning the act of hearing the song into an interactive rather than passive activity.
Erica
quote:Originally posted by Janice:
In the movie, they threw the girl's rag doll off the bridge - not on purpose, they were having a struggle and it went flying. Also in the movie, Billy Joe had a sexual encounter with a man and killed himself because he couldn't live with the guilt of cheating on the girl or the fear of being gay. (I don't think it was rape, but I really don't remember).
I've always liked this song and others by Bobby Gentry - especially some of her duets with Glen Campbell
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