I got a letter this morning
What do you reckon it read?
It said the gal you love is dead
I got a letter this morning
What do you reckon it read?

Said "Hurry, Hurry because the gal you love is dead"
Well I packed up my suitcase
I took off down the road
When I got there she was layin' on the cooling board
I packed up my suitcase
And I took off down the road
When I got there she was layin' on the cooling board

It looked like ten thousand people standing around the burial ground
I didn't know I loved her 'till they began to let her down
Looked like ten thousand people standing on the burial ground
I didn't know that I loved her 'till they began to let her down

You know it's so hard to love
Someone that don't love you
Won't get satisfaction
Don't care what you do
So hard to love
Someone that don't love you

Don't look like satisfaction
Don't care what you do

Well I got up this morning
The break of day
Just hugging the pillows
She used to lay

Got up this morning
The break of day
Just hugging the pillows
Where my baby used to lay


Lyrics submitted by DuckFetus

Death Letter Lyrics as written by Eddie Son House

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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Death Letter song meanings
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33 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    "You know it's so hard to love Someone that don't love you "

    What a dam fine lyric!

    bkat004on January 30, 2006   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    I just picture it being something like his ex (girl thing) is getting married. Letter = Invitation Cooling board = wedding preps/buzz 10 thousand = all the ivited guests friends family She just doesnt want the D no moe

    MyButtHurtson October 23, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I love this song for the sole reason that it helped me discover Son House.

    tsb2rxnon September 23, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i'd say that this song is mostly about not understanding until it's too late, backed up by the line "I didn't know I loved her Until they began to let her down". This could even be recounting a dream, the way the death, and the journey to see her and the funeral all pass by so fast, and then the final verse actually says that she used to be in the same bed as him, indicating that she may have left him or something previously, but he had a dream she'd died and woke up at the "break of day", probably in quite a state and realised that although they may have left each other, he now realises that he does still love her deep down but it's too late.

    tommyjazzon June 23, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I just came to the realization that in the original Son House version, there's the line

    "I didn't feel so bad 'til the good old sun went down I didn't have a soul to throw my arms around"

    Jack White stuck it right in Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground instead!

    This might have been obvious to everyone, but not to me.

    ObsessiveFreakon April 18, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    great 12 bar blues one of the white stripes best? i think so

    myfriendson June 17, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    youtube.com/watch

    I was at this gig

    People were in awe

    pmo1983on January 09, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song! The video isn't bad either

    ExplodingGirlCUREon May 30, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    theres a video for this song?

    WhiteHives8on July 04, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yes there is i love it!!!

    Punk_emokitty01on August 15, 2002   Link

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