Conversation so far:
What was Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe story about?
Ode to Billie Joe is a first-person narrative of a Mississippi family's reaction to the news of the suicide of Billie Joe McAllister to whom the narrator is connected.
Was Ode to Billie Joe a popular song?
Ode to Billie Joe was a number-one hit in the US and Billboard ranked the record as the No. 3 song of the year.
What inspired Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe story?
Bobbie Gentry explained the inspiration of the song was authentic because she grew up dirt-poor on her grandparents’ farm near the Tallahatchie Bridge in Chickasaw County, Mississippi.
What other interesting aspects are there about Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe besides what it was about, how it was popular, and what inspired her to write it?
Questions arose among listeners: what did Billie Joe and his girlfriend throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge, and why did Billie Joe commit suicide?

Question: was that verse based on fact?
Self-contained rewrite: was that verse where Billy Joe and the narrator throw something off Tallahatchie Bridge based on fact?