Ode to Billie Joe by Tara Murtha. Bobbie Gentry is one of music's greatest enigma's. And she wrote two of the most cinematic songs in history "Ode to Billie Joe" and "Fancy" - with the former actually making it to the screen. But if you're looking for exactly what was thrown off the Tallahatchee bridge that day, Murtha (or Gentry) don't reveal it.