Released in May of 1967 This is one of the most mysterious songs ever recorded in history It asks why Billie Joe Jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge Rumors based on this song was Billie Jo was black, and fathered a child from a white woman in the 1930's in Mississippi, and he may have committed suicide over a pregnancy An act that could have definitely caused him to be sentenced to the death penalty in this time period in this state.