Unsolved Mysteries In Music

Many tunes have inspired me over the years.  I love YouTube, that I didn't have access to back in the day.  This tune seems to give us a bread crumb trail that leads to rabbit holes and an unsolved mystery...perhaps a conspiracy? What do you suppose the writer and Billy Joe Mc Calister threw off the bridge.  The clues to mystery is in the song. What does Bobby Gentry have to say about this tune?