Thea Eve Gilmore (born 25 November 1979, Oxford, England, to Irish parents)… Read Full Bio ↴Thea Eve Gilmore (born 25 November 1979, Oxford, England, to Irish parents) is a British female singer-songwriter. She began her career working in a recording studio, where she was discovered by her now long-time collaborator, producer and sometime co-songwriter Nigel Stonier. Gilmore released her first album, Burning Dorothy, as a teenager in 1998 and over the course of the next four years, released increasingly well-received albums that earned her a reputation in the UK music press but no chart success. She finally made a breakthrough at 23 with the release of Avalanche in August 2003, which became her first album to break into the Official UK Album Chart, at #62, and spawned two minor hit singles.

Gilmore is said to have become interested in music as a result of her father's record collection, which included work by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, and Tom Waits, among others. At 16 she left home and began working in a recording studio where she was discovered by her now long-time collaborator, producer and sometime co-songwriter Nigel Stonier, who became her husband in a ceremony in October 2005.

Thea recorded her debut album aged just 17 and then entered a spell of productivity which, in the four and a half years from January 1999 to August 2003, saw her record and release six albums including four "official" releases and two cult albums which were only intended for internet release but which have long since been available in the shops. In 2001, with the release of Rules For Jokers, she hit some kind of national nerve and garnered some attendant airplay but it wasn't until 2003's Avalanche that Thea finally began to make significant waves. Avalanche became Radio 2's Album Of The Week and spawned two hit singles including her first certifiable Top 40 hit Juliet. Thea has gathered countless plaudits over the years - "the best British singer songwriter of the last ten years - and then some" (Uncut), "so good its scary" (Mojo), and "Gilmore is already in a league of her own" (Q) immediately spring to mind - but Avalanche was truly a quantum leap forward and "a breakthrough record" (Times) to boot. And you can bet that Thea remains the only artiste to have her under-$50 video shown on Top Of The Pops.

Increasing radio support and acclaim from the music press led to a lucrative tour of the US in 2004, in support of legendary folksinger Joan Baez. During this time, Gilmore was diagnosed with clinical depression and also split from her personal relationship with Nigel Stonier after seven years, although they continued touring and working together.

In 2005, Gilmore continued touring commitments, for the first time not releasing a new album (the covers collection Loft Music was widely released during 2004). In October 2005, she and Stonier, who, in the light of Gilmore's depression diagnosis, re-started their personal relationship, married in a ceremony near their home in Cheshire.

Gilmore finally returned to recording with the release of Harpo's Ghost in August 2006, after a three-year absence of new material. The album was once again acclaimed in the music press and UK radio lent their support to the single "Cheap Tricks." Gilmore has been touted by Uncut magazine as "the best British singer-songwriter of the last 10 years...and then some" and has gained steady acclaim for each of her albums.

On November 14th, 2006, Gilmore gave birth to her first child with Stonier, a son named Egan, having conducted a UK tour in the autumn while heavily pregnant.

Thea Gilmore writes lyrics that somehow combine awesome poetic grace together with a 21st century barbed undercurrent. She also delivers razor sharp missives on life, love, sex, death, politics and wars (both personal and global) and all with an achingly-beautiful delivery which melts hearts in an instant. Someone once remarked that Thea is a hellraiser with a voice like honey and if you get to meet her you will know what this means. Barely out of her teenage daze, Thea was being compared to everyone from Joni Mitchell to Ryan Adams and Tom Waits and now at 31, Thea is going to make you think sweet somethings all over again.

www.theagilmore.net

Black Letter
Thea Gilmore Lyrics

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Black letter came to me today
Wired and lonely
Wired and lonely
Holding my hand
Oh, black letter came to me today
Wired and lonely
Wired to the running sand

Black letter came to me today
With a postmark of the seasons
A postmark of the seasons
Signed by time
Oh, black letter came to me today
With a postmark of the seasons
And handwriting that looked like mine

Black letter burns easily
Burns like kindling
Burns like kindling
Soon as I strike a match
Oh, black letter burns easily
Burns like kindling
I?ll burn that letter down to ash

Black letter came to me today
Singing hallelujah
Singing hallelujah
Reading those words
Oh, black letter came to me today
Singing hallelujah
Black letter is a promise or a curse

Black letter came to me today
Wired and lonely
Wired and lonely
Holding my hand
Oh, black letter came to me today
Wired and lonely
Wired to the running sand

Wired to the running sand
Wired to the running sand

Overall Meaning

In Thea Gilmore's song "Black Letter," the singer receives a letter that seems to hold a great deal of significance for her. The letter is described as "wired and lonely," perhaps hinting at the sender's isolation or desperation. Despite this, the letter is holding the singer's hand, suggesting a kind of intimacy or connection between them. The letter is also said to be "wired to the running sand," which could represent the fleetingness of time and the urgency with which the sender wants their message to be received.

The letter is described as having a "postmark of the seasons," which suggests that it has been a long time coming. The handwriting on the letter looks like the singer's own, which could mean that she has been the one sending letters to herself (perhaps as a form of self-reflection or therapy). The letter, despite its long-awaited arrival, is also described as being easy to burn like kindling. This could suggest that the letter contains painful or difficult truths that the singer might want to destroy and forget.

The letter is said to sing "hallelujah" and carries both a promise and a curse. The singer seems to be in a conflicted state about the letter's contents, and its impact on her life is uncertain. Ultimately, the letter is tied to the fleetingness of life ("wired to the running sand") and the singer's own sense of loneliness and isolation ("wired and lonely").

Line by Line Meaning

Black letter came to me today
Receiving a written message today

Wired and lonely
Feeling anxious and isolated

Wired and lonely
Experiencing deep emotional unrest

Holding my hand
The message is personal and significant

Oh, black letter came to me today
Emphasizing the importance of receiving this message

Wired to the running sand
Feeling a sense of urgency and impermanence

With a postmark of the seasons
The message is connected to the passing of time

A postmark of the seasons
Signifies a specific time and place

Signed by time
Reminding us of the inevitability of change

And handwriting that looked like mine
The message seems to originate from within oneself

Black letter burns easily
The message is fragile and easily destroyed