I think the first single I bought with my own money was the song "Ode to Billie Joe." I found the song to be so mesmerizing...was I somehow attracted to the darker side of it?

I doubt it, I was only about eleven.
What I believe was the draw for me was that it "told a story."
I think one of the things that aided in making MJ's
Billie Jean such a hit is it, too, told a story, and because it did, when he performed it, he could put so much more into it...he became the character whose plight he was singing about.
Interesting, when I think about it, both songs are about a "Billie."