It was the third of June another sleepy dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was bailin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered at the back door y'all remember to wipe your feet
And then she said I got the news this mornin' from Choctaw Wridge

Today Billie Joe McAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
Papa said to Mama as he passed around the black eyed peas