Carrol County Accident Song (Greenwood, Philadelphia: living, title, cities)

[johnwrites]

I wonder if anyone could tell me the inspiration for the song 'The Carroll County Accident' as described at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ferguson_%28music%29

The link says it was written by Bob Ferguson when passing through Carroll County but does not say if there was an accident.

I am also interested to learn if the people in the accident, if there was one, were named in song with their true names. Some sources mention an accident at Tallahatchie Bridge but the song says "the wreck was on the highway just inside the line". Would the bridge be inside the line

Many thanks

johnwrites

[Overqualified]

I think its all urban legend stuff. Is there an actual Tallahatchie Bridge somewhere? Crossing the Mississippi River? It would be going into Arkansas if from Memphis. IMO, just sounds good in a song.

[ccb]

The Carroll County to which Ferguson refers must be in Tennessee rather than Mississippi. Highway 70 does not pass through Mississippi. ( "The country song 'Carroll County Accident'...was written when Bob passed through Carroll County when driving from Nashville to Memphis on U.S. Highway 70")

There are several bridges in Mississippi refered to as "the Talahatchie bridge". The Talahatchie River begins in The North Mississippi County of Tippah and merges with the Yalabusha near Greenwood, MS to form the Yazoo River.

[candleyes]

According to my boyfriend, the song, Carroll County Accident happened in his hometown of Delphi, IN. The child of one of the victims was a classmate of his way back when. He grew up in Carroll County in a small town where everyone new one another. He knew all those involved.

[Dollymania]

Unfortunately, the Wikipedia entry is in error. According to an interview with the song's composer, Bob Ferguson, which appeared in the Steve Eng book "A Satisfied Mind: The Country Music Life of Porter Wagoner," he was driving in 1968 from Nashville to Philadelphia, Mississippi, not Memphis, for a concert for the Choctaw Indians, whose reservation is located just outside of Philadelphia (even though he was not Native American, he worked very closely with the tribe for most of his life and was living on the reservation when he died in 2001). It doesn't state on which highways he was traveling, but since there is no direct highway between the two cities he must have changed roads at some point. As he drove through Carroll County, Tenn., according to the interview, he said to himself he'd better slow down or he'd become "the Carroll County accident." Immediately, he thought that would be a good song title. A few hours later, he drove through Carroll County, Miss., and decided it was an omen that he should write the song. By the time he arrived at his destination at the Choctaw Indian Reservation, he had written most of the lyrics (all of the beginning and all of the end, although he still had the middle to write over the next day or two). It wasn't until after he finished the song that he learned there were at least 11 additional Carroll Counties in other states. There was no real accident that inspired it, though. It was all entirely made up in Bob's head. However, after the song became a hit, he received several calls and letters from people who had the same names as the ones he made up for the song and happened to live in Carroll Counties across the country. As for the second part of the question, two different songs are being confused with each other. The Tallahachee Bridge is featured in the Bobbie Gentry classic "Ode To Billy Joe," not "Carroll County Accident." It's also a story song that was completely made up with no basis in a real incident, but the previous writer is correct there are several "Tallahachee Bridges" in Mississippi, although to clarify for the question that was asked, all of the bridges cross the Tallahachee River (which is the river referred to in the "Ode"), not the Mississippi River, and neither river is located in Carroll County.

[johnwrites]

Originally Posted by candleyes

According to my boyfriend, the song, Carroll County Accident happened in his hometown of Delphi, IN. The child of one of the victims was a classmate of his way back when. He grew up in Carroll County in a small town where everyone new one another. He knew all those involved.

Hi
Thanks for posting. If your boyfriend has any more info, like those he knew who were involved would you post it please. Which child was a classmate?
Thanks again

[johnwrites]

Thanks everyone who replied. I only got notified of replies today