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Death Letter
The White Stripes Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

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

Overall Meaning

The White Stripes' song Death Letter is a cover of the 1965 blues song by Son House. The lyrics tell the story of a man who receives a letter informing him that the woman he loves has died. The urgency of the letter ("Hurry, Hurry because the gal you love is dead") prompts him to pack his bag and travel to where she is. Upon arrival, he discovers that she is dead and is about to be buried.


The man expresses regret at not realizing how much he loved her until he saw her being buried, signified by the line "I didn't know I loved her 'till they began to let her down." He goes on to lament the difficulty of loving someone who doesn't love you back and the lack of satisfaction that comes with it. The final verse shows the man waking up in the morning and reaching out to hug the pillows where his lover used to lay, further underscoring his grief and longing for her.


The raw and mournful lyrics are accompanied by Jack White's powerful guitar playing and Meg White's steady and driving beat, giving the song an urgent and emotional quality.


Line by Line Meaning

I got a letter this morning
The singer received a letter this morning


What do you reckon it read?
The singer is asking what the content of the letter might be


It said the gal you love is dead
The letter contained the news that the singer's love interest had died


Said "Hurry, Hurry because the gal you love is dead"
The letter urged the artist to hurry to where the love interest had died


Well I packed up my suitcase
The artist prepared for a journey


I took off down the road
The singer began to travel


When I got there she was layin' on the cooling board
The singer found the love interest's body on a slab used for the dead


It looked like ten thousand people standing around the burial ground
A large crowd of people had gathered at the burial site


I didn't know I loved her 'till they began to let her down
Only when the love interest's body was being lowered into the ground did the artist realize his love for her


Looked like ten thousand people standing on the burial ground
The large crowd of mourners remained at the burial site


I didn't know that I loved her 'till they began to let her down
The singer didn't realize the extent of his love for the woman until her burial


You know it's so hard to love
Loving someone can be difficult


Someone that don't love you
It's hard to love someone who doesn't love you back


Won't get satisfaction
The singer won't be satisfied in such a relationship


Don't care what you do
The other person is indifferent to the singer's actions


So hard to love
Loving someone who doesn't love back is difficult


Don't look like satisfaction
The artist doesn't feel fulfilled in this kind of relationship


Don't care what you do
The other person doesn't care about the singer's feelings or actions


Well I got up this morning
The singer woke up for the day


The break of day
It was early in the morning


Just hugging the pillows
The artist clung to the pillows where the love interest used to lay


She used to lay
The artist's love interest used to sleep in that spot




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: EDDIE SON HOUSE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@chuckplainview4085

The tone from that old box is insane. Jack had one of the best ears for vintage tone in the business.

@petere6128

It’s a fuzz

@Bende.

​@@petere6128yes, the fuzz distords the guitar but if you like just listen, it has a completely different tone with the another guitars he uses. So that is the own sound of that guitar. (with a little fuzz added) and yeah, I think that its sounds beautiful too

@CaptainHoratioPugwash

@@Bende. Probably original gold foil pickups in that 1954 Kay giving it it's tone. That's the same guitar he recorded Seven Nation Army on.

@mavjimbo

Bone chilling

@cabwaylingo_

as far as i'm aware this is one of the greatest live performances ever captured on video

@alexiosnektarios5429

yes it is after 15 years cant forget it.

@kathyraymelles.80

Oh yeah I agree

@darrylsebastian3004

See Sublime live at the palace.

@markforrest9958

Yes

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