The Letter
The Box Tops Lyrics


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Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
Ain't got time to take a fast train
Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home
My baby, just a wrote me a letter

I don't care how much money I gotta spend
Got to get back to my baby again
Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home
My baby, just-a wrote me a letter

Well, she wrote me a letter
Said she couldn't live without me no more
Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back
To my baby once-a more
Anyway, yeah

Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
Ain't got time to take a fast train
Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home
My baby, just-a wrote me a letter

Well, she wrote me a letter
Said she couldn't live without me no more
Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back
To my baby once-a more
Anyway, yeah

Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
Ain't got time to take a fast train




Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home
My baby, just-a wrote me a letter, my baby just-a wrote me a letter

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Box Tops' song The Letter are about a man who receives a letter from his significant other, prompting him to immediately return home to her. The first two lines suggest that he is in a hurry to get home, opting for an airplane ticket rather than a fast train. He cannot bear to be separated from his loved one any longer, and his lonely days are over now that he has received her letter.


The chorus repeats the idea that he is going home thanks to the letter she wrote, and that he is willing to spend any amount of money to make it happen. She wrote to him stating that she could not live without him, thus illustrating the deep love and connection they share. The man's urgency is evident in the line "Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back" - he is willing to do whatever it takes to return to his beloved.


The repetition of the lyrics in the chorus throughout the song makes it clear that the message conveyed in the letter is the most important thing to the man. His love for his significant other is at the forefront of his thoughts, and he cannot wait to be reunited with her. It is clear that the letter holds great significance to him, and it is the catalyst for his journey home.


Line by Line Meaning

Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
I urgently need an airplane ticket


Ain't got time to take a fast train
I don't have the luxury of taking a fast train as time is of the essence


Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home
I had been feeling lonely but now I'm excited to go back home


My baby, just a wrote me a letter
I received a letter from my significant other


I don't care how much money I gotta spend
The amount of money needed to get a ticket is not a concern for me


Got to get back to my baby again
My main priority is to return to my significant other


Well, she wrote me a letter
The letter was indeed from my significant other


Said she couldn't live without me no more
My significant other expressed that they cannot go on without me


Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back
I need to go back to my significant other and it's imperative that others understand that


To my baby once-a more
I want to see my significant other again


Anyway, yeah
I am very determined to get back to my significant other


My baby, just-a wrote me a letter
The content of the letter served as a catalyst for me to make the trip back home




Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Wayne Carson Thompson

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@My.name.is.SickBoy

Lyrics :


Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
Ain't got time to take a fast train
Lonely days are gone, I'm-a goin' home
Oh, my baby, just-a wrote me a letter

I don't care how much money I gotta spend
Got to get back to my baby again
Lonely days are gone, I'm-a goin' home
Oh, my baby, just-a wrote me a letter

Well, she wrote me a letter
Said she couldn't live without me no more
Listen, mister, can't you see I got to get back
To my baby once-a more
Anyway, yeah!

Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
Ain't got time to take a fast train
Lonely days are gone, I'm-a goin' home
Oh, my baby, just-a wrote me a letter

Well, she wrote me a letter
Said she couldn't live without me no more
Listen, mister, can't you see I got to get back
To my baby once-a more
Anyway, yeah!

Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
Ain't got time to take a fast train
Lonely days are gone, I'm-a goin' home
Oh, my baby, just-a wrote me a letter
Oh, go, my baby, just-a wrote me a letter



@RiverRat_1977

This song was on a 90 minute cassette mixtape of several songs my cousin Ronnie recorded to take with him to Vietnam, but he was troubled about going to fight in a war he was against since we lived in Northern California where, in 1967, was the home of the Anti War Movement and the Summer of Love!

Ronnie was pressured to enlist in the Navy because his father was a highly decorated WWII Vet and was determined that his son should follow in his footsteps. Ronnie’s feelings were largely unknown to his brother Larry, his parents, myself, all our other cousins and relatives, and some of his friends at Cloverdale High School. In the end, he was caught between pleasing (placating) his father and going to Vietnam… which he was already legally committed to do after his father had taken him to the recruiting office to enlist when he was still only 17 (Being part of a large Navy Family, it’s just something we did)!!!

I only knew Ronnie was unhappy about the situation, and he frequently expressed this to me, but I didn’t understand how deeply distraught he was becoming as his High School Graduation was getting closer, despite being 8 months away! Late Halloween Night, after he got off of work as the projectionist at the local small movie theater in Cloverdale, I can only imagine how he was feeling inside… the last Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other celebrations at home… because, he would be gone at least 2 years, if he made it back alive (in his mind) before he would be able to celebrate any of these holidays with his family again!

He knew how disappointed and angry his father would be if he went to Canada, or dodged his legally binding commitment to serve, which he would have been arrested for- after the first day he would be considered AWOL!! So, while driving to his parent’s home late that Halloween Night in 1967, he made the decision to take his life by driving over, and then off of, the embankment of the Cloverdale Bridge (Old Highway 101) crashing down a steep rocky ridge into the frigid and fast moving water of the Russian River where he drowned after having been knocked unconscious from the impact.

It was so late and so dark in that small town that nobody saw what happened until early in the morning when someone saw the signs of an obvious collision off the northern approach to the bridge span coming from the northern part of town and heading southbound at a fairly high rate of speed (in a 25 mph zone) to make sure he didn’t just land on the rocks there…

I’ll never forget every detail that led to his suicide- since I was the only family member who knew how Ronnie really felt, and hearing this song just transports me back to that time and causes those memories to just reverberate, yet it reminds me of the warm friendly character Ronnie was and all the great times we had together!!

Ronnie’s younger brother Larry was killed on his motorcycle in Germany by a “Ghost Rider” flying down the wrong way of the Autobahn at a high rate of speed, and without any headlights on, which was considered a daredevil kind of prank for young German drivers who were usually intoxicated. But this activity was considered almost common since they even had a name for the deadly prank, and the people who were driving!

My other cousin Larry was stationed in the US Army over in Germany. But there wasn’t much of him left to send back to his parents in 1977. Just around 10 years after his older brother Ronnie had died. Larry was buried at the Fort Presidio Army Base Cemetery in San Francisco, California, and in a spot that looks over the entire western part of the SF Bay, near the Golden Gate Bridge. He was given full military honors at his burial.

Their parents were shattered after having lost their sons to steel, rubber, asphalt, and having US Military commitments!! I’m reminded of Larry by this song since we wrote each other often… and I’m reminded even more about Ronnie because it was the first song on his mixtape, and because I really miss all the letters we never got to send to each other… and after over 55 years, it’s also about all the missed times we never got to spend with each other as we grew older…

I never could bring myself to tell Ronnie’s father what he really thought about going to fight in a war he despised as much as his friends all did back then! I don’t know if it’s fortunate that Larry never went to Vietnam, having waited a few years after it ended before he decided to enlist in the service. And I’d like to think he did it to make up to his father for what Ronnie couldn’t serve… So their father never knew what Ronnie sacrificed to avoid going to Vietnam, and by my not saying anything, it would never spoil his perception of Ronnie’s death as anything but accidental!!! So I have no regrets for staying silent!!!



All comments from YouTube:

@138eliza

My dad who was in Vietnam said this song helped him through that horrific time. He came home but was never the same. I’m happy he had something like this song to come home. Too bad he couldn’t find the peace he was looking for. He was too young gone at 51. To all the veterans thank you. 🙏

@lesliebankston

How lucky your father is to have you. Insight, true compassion and appreciation for the gift of music. God, is surely in you ❤

@FlyingSpaceDog

Salute

@danscott3880

Amen my uncle was there 66-68 he has never been the same. God bless all our veterans. Past. Present

@1stbattlion372

Your was Dad blessed with a daughter like you. My wife divorced me and took our daughter
with while I was in the VA learning how walk with my new leg. Never seen either one of them again. to all Veterans...OORAH !!!

@138eliza

@@1stbattlion372 im sorry to hear what happened. You did more than your best and it was not in vain. I wish you healing ❤️‍🩹. Endless gratitude for your service. 🙏

20 More Replies...

@WastedTalent-

Such a great song. The first time I heard this song was about 30 years ago when I was 15 and hanging out at the corner bar. There was a guy, Bob. He was a Vietnam Vet/POW and had vertical scars over his eyes. He loved this song to no end. Always asked me to play it. We'd sing it at the top of our lungs. He told me it reminded him of a better time.

@ottokokko6343

Very nice story. stangers you meet are truly wonderfull sometimes, sticks with you forever

@charlesjonessr3684

I swear this song is not long enough.

@MrMaKeMeDiNnEr

Thats what she said

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