1. The fi… Read Full Bio ↴There are more than one Artists with the name Fear Itself.
1. The first one is a late sixties San Francisco outfit, whose album is full of fuzz-blues material sounding rather like a psychedelic Groundhogs. Its more psychedelic tracks included Underground River and For Suki. Only two covers are present, a bluesy version of The Letter and Born Under A Bad Sign, both were chosen for their 45. The album is now a very minor collectors' item and was produced by Tom Wilson.
2. The 2nd Fear Itself was a Hardcore/Speedcore Band from South Carolina. The band was founded sometime in the mid 80's and recorded their first demo in 1986. One year later the "Til death do us Part" LP was released on Phantom Records from Anchorage. The EU pressing was released on We Bite Records from Germany and featured a new mix and one bonus track (Werewolf's Life). In the following years they were featured on several compilations, the most famous one being "The North Atlantic Noise Attack" which featured some of the best Speed/Thrashcore bands from the Mid to late 80's.
1. The album was originally released in 1969 on Dot-Records but didn´t receive too much attention - maybe it appeared as a too freaked out heavy version of Jefferson Airplane or Big Brother & the Holding Co. The group started back in Atlanta Georgia in 1967 as a quartet with 2 guitars and played true psychedelic sounds, recorded at the Record Plant in NYC, and moved to Woodstock (NY). Their 5 original tunes, 2 arrangements of traditional tunes and 3 others are electric heavy blues with a strong Hendrix feel with duelling guitarwork, an outstanding female voice/vocals/screams...lots of intense stereo effects. They performed at Woodstock Festival in 1968 (one year before...) and at the hottest locations of NYC such as Filmore East. Ellen McIlwaine, the founder of the group made an international solo career as blues-singer and slide guitarist sharing the bill with Jimi Hendrix, Laura Nyro, Howlin' Wolf, Weather Report, Taj Mahal, George Thorogood, Tom Waits, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen and played a series of concerts with Johnny Winter. This release, is issued with stunning sound quality and includes a great booklet with pictures and biographical background. - For all 60´s collectors who are not familiar with this masterpiece - it´s a must - there a not many groups that were able to present the freewheelin´ live on stage feeling on their studio album!
01.Crawling Kingsnake
02.Underground River
03.Bow'd Up
04.For Suki
05.In My Time Of Dying
06.The Letter
07.Lazarus
08.Mossy Dream
09.Billy Gene
2. The 2nd Fear Itself was a Hardcore/Speedcore Band from South Carolina. The band was founded sometime in the mid 80's and recorded their first demo in 1986. One year later the "Til death do us Part" LP was released on Phantom Records from Anchorage. The EU pressing was released on We Bite Records from Germany and featured a new mix and one bonus track (Werewolf's Life). In the following years they were featured on several compilations, the most famous one being "The North Atlantic Noise Attack" which featured some of the best Speed/Thrashcore bands from the Mid to late 80's.
The Letter
Fear Itself Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
aint got time to take a fast train
owh lonly days are gone
I'm going on
my baby just wrote me a letter
Don't care how much money I got spend
I gotta back to my baby again
owh lonly days are gone
my baby just wrote me a letter
wrote me a letter send it closley without no more
listen to me can't you see
I gotta get back to my baby once more
any way now...
give me a ticket for an airplane
aint got time to take a fast train
owh lonly days are gone
I'm going on
my baby just wrote me a letter
listen to me can't you see
I gotta get back to my baby once more
give me a ticket for an airplane
aint got time to take a fast train
owh lonly days are gone
I'm going on
my baby just wrote me a letter
my baby just wrote me a letter
my baby just wrote me a letter
The lyrics to Fear Itself's song, The Letter, convey the excitement and urgency of the singer to reunite with their significant other, after receiving a letter from them. The first verse speaks to the singer's impatience to return to their loved one, regardless of cost or time. The following verse emphasizes the importance of the letter, and how it is the catalyst for the singer's journey. The chorus repeats the desire to go back to their baby, and the closure of the song restates the impact of the letter on the singer's decision to go to their lover.
The song is fairly straightforward in its interpretation - it's a love song that emphasizes the power of a letter to bring people together. One could interpret the lyrics as a reflection of the time when the song was written, where long-distance relationships were primarily facilitated through postal communication. The song also captures the excitement and anticipation of meeting someone after being apart for a long time, and the willingness to do whatever it takes to be with that person.
Line by Line Meaning
give me a ticket for an airplane
I need a ticket to fly because I can't waste time on a train. I have to get back to my baby.
aint got time to take a fast train
I can't afford to take a train even if it's fast because I need to be reunited with my baby.
owh lonly days are gone
I used to be lonely but not anymore because my baby wrote me a letter and I'm going to see her/him.
I'm going on
I'm leaving this place and going to see my baby.
my baby just wrote me a letter
My baby wrote me a letter, and I can't wait to see her/him.
Don't care how much money I got spend
The amount of money I spend to see my baby doesn't matter because our love is worth it.
I gotta back to my baby again
I need to see my baby again and nothing's going to stop me.
wrote me a letter send it closley without no more
My baby sent me a letter and I'm keeping it close to my heart. There is nothing more important to me than this letter.
listen to me can't you see
I'm telling you that I need to go back to my baby. I hope you understand.
I gotta get back to my baby once more
I need to see my baby again because I miss her/him so much.
any way now...
Anyway, I have to go now. My baby is waiting for me.
my baby just wrote me a letter
Just in case you forgot, my baby wrote me a letter and I'm on my way to see her/him.
Contributed by Luke A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.