50 Songs where the lyrics are letters being written to someone

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1. Anchorage - Michelle Shocked

kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:19 (fourteen years ago)

2. Dear God - XTC

congratulations (n/a), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:21 (fourteen years ago)

3. PS I Love You - The Beatles

V79, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:22 (fourteen years ago)

4. David I Hope You Don't Mind - Country Teasers

all the love sent up high to pledge won't reach the (ledge), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:26 (fourteen years ago)

5-50. All of Taylor Swift's songs.

i am not a display name (The Brainwasher), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:27 (fourteen years ago)

6. Famous Blue Raincoat - Sincerely, L. Cohen

so imagen what we can do with the rest of our brain...right buddy's?? (Pillbox), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:29 (fourteen years ago)

7. One Love - Nas

hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:30 (fourteen years ago)

8. Stan - Eminem

skreet walking cheeduh widda head fulla facepalm (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:31 (fourteen years ago)

9. Allan Sherman - 'Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (a Letter From Camp)'

Les centimètres énigmatiques (snoball), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:32 (fourteen years ago)

10. Linton Kwesi Johnson - Sonny's Lettah

fred aboombong (a passing spacecadet), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:33 (fourteen years ago)

11. Kristin Hersh - the Letter

Sunn O))) Sundae Smile (Trayce), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:45 (fourteen years ago)

12. Rod Stewart - You Wear It Well

kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:50 (fourteen years ago)

13. "Cinnamon Girl," Neil Young (for part of it, anyway: "Ma, send me money now...")

R.B. Greaves' "Take a Letter Maria" belongs on an esoteric spin-off of this thread: 50 songs where the lyrics are directives to someone concerning letters being written to someone.

clemenza, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:51 (fourteen years ago)

14. Dear Mr. Jesus - some fucking little girl

Tub Girl Time Machine (Phil D.), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:51 (fourteen years ago)

15. Paperback Writer - The Beatles

Tub Girl Time Machine (Phil D.), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:52 (fourteen years ago)

16. sarge - dear josie love robyn

disco stfu (electricsound), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 22:58 (fourteen years ago)

17. Le Deserteur

Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 23:15 (fourteen years ago)

18. Lulu- To Sir, With Love
19. Zombies- Care of Cell 44

Drastic times require what? Drastic measures! Who said that? T (President Keyes), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 23:54 (fourteen years ago)

20. burning sky - the jam

fact checking cuz, Thursday, 4 November 2010 00:47 (fourteen years ago)

20(a) through 20(t) - all of elvis costello's juliet letters

fact checking cuz, Thursday, 4 November 2010 00:49 (fourteen years ago)

oops, make that 21(a) through 21(t)

fact checking cuz, Thursday, 4 November 2010 00:49 (fourteen years ago)

21. Brad Paisley - Letter to Me
22. John Prine - Dear Abby

xhuxk, Thursday, 4 November 2010 00:53 (fourteen years ago)

23. Chely Wright - Notes To The Coroner

xhuxk, Thursday, 4 November 2010 01:19 (fourteen years ago)

24. tom waits - christmas card from a hooker in minneapolis

charlie h, Thursday, 4 November 2010 01:24 (fourteen years ago)

Emiliana Torrini - Sunny Road
that Minutemen song about not using the shower

zappi, Thursday, 4 November 2010 01:31 (fourteen years ago)

that Minutemen song about not using the shower

26. Take 5, D - The Minutemen
27. The Scientist Writes A Letter - Tom Verlaine

kornrulez6969, Thursday, 4 November 2010 01:51 (fourteen years ago)

28. Gene Pitney - 24 Hrs From Tulsa

That is the stench of tyranny (VegemiteGrrrl), Thursday, 4 November 2010 01:53 (fourteen years ago)

29. 'Indiana Wants Me' - R. Dean Taylor

Les centimètres énigmatiques (snoball), Thursday, 4 November 2010 08:54 (fourteen years ago)

30. Letter to Elise - The Cure

all the love sent up high to pledge won't reach the (ledge), Thursday, 4 November 2010 09:22 (fourteen years ago)

31 Sally Cinnamon - The Stone Roses

(apart from the bit at the end where Narrator-Brown puts the letter back where he nicked it from. Nosy cock.)

portrait of velleity (woof), Thursday, 4 November 2010 09:51 (fourteen years ago)

32. Mother Mother - Tracy Bonham

Pheeel, Thursday, 4 November 2010 11:11 (fourteen years ago)

33. Jake Thackray, Worried Brown Eyes

... series of letters really

Tom A. (Tom B.) (Tom C.) (Tom D.), Thursday, 4 November 2010 14:44 (fourteen years ago)

34. "There There My Dear" - Dexy's

Mark G, Thursday, 4 November 2010 14:55 (fourteen years ago)

35. Good Grief, Charlie Brown - Carter USM

your mum, Thursday, 4 November 2010 15:04 (fourteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

36. "Dear Michael" - Kim Fields

xhuxk, Saturday, 20 November 2010 03:59 (fourteen years ago)

37. Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead - Frank Zappa

weatheringdaleson, Saturday, 20 November 2010 06:01 (fourteen years ago)

38. Strawberry Letter 23 - Shuggie Otis

Lee626, Saturday, 20 November 2010 17:58 (fourteen years ago)

two months pass...

39. Woods Of Ypres -- "By The Time You Read This (I Will Already Be Dead)"

xhuxk, Friday, 28 January 2011 14:57 (fourteen years ago)

40. David Bowie - Letter To Hermione

kornrulez6969, Friday, 28 January 2011 15:51 (fourteen years ago)

41. Hollies-"Dear Eloise"

Your cousin, Marvin Cobain (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 28 January 2011 17:17 (fourteen years ago)

42. Desolation Row - Bob Dylan

전승 Complete Victory (in Battle) (NotEnough), Friday, 28 January 2011 18:28 (fourteen years ago)

43. Dead Kennedys - "Dear Abby"

bentelec, Friday, 28 January 2011 18:58 (fourteen years ago)

Shellac - "Prayer to God" (not specifically a letter, but I think it fits well enough)

the new mordant & zingy ilxor persona (ilxor), Friday, 28 January 2011 19:33 (fourteen years ago)

44. ^^

the new mordant & zingy ilxor persona (ilxor), Friday, 28 January 2011 19:33 (fourteen years ago)

45. Husker Du - I Will Never Forget You

The previous message has been brought to you by (kelpolaris), Friday, 28 January 2011 19:36 (fourteen years ago)

46. The Kinks - Do You Remember Walter?

wait is this person supposed to be a real person, evidenced by fact based in reality?

The previous message has been brought to you by (kelpolaris), Friday, 28 January 2011 19:37 (fourteen years ago)

is there anything in "do you remember walter" to suggest it's a letter?

fact checking cuz, Friday, 28 January 2011 19:39 (fourteen years ago)

47. warren zevon "lawyers guns and money" certainly could be a letter. more likely a telegram.

fact checking cuz, Friday, 28 January 2011 19:44 (fourteen years ago)

48. Bob Dylan - Dear Landlord

kornrulez6969, Friday, 28 January 2011 19:49 (fourteen years ago)

I see "Do You Remember Walter" as an internal reminiscence about an old friend. it doesn't matter whether Walter is supposed to be real or imaginary: either way, the narrator invokes him as a way of satirizing romatic notions of old England. "Walter" doesn't need to be present (whether it's face-to-face or at the receiving end of a letter) to be addressed in the second person.

the loneliness of the dexys midnight runner (unregistered), Friday, 28 January 2011 19:51 (fourteen years ago)

49. Alanis Morissette - Unsent

Brad Nelson (BradNelson), Friday, 28 January 2011 19:51 (fourteen years ago)

"take a letter, maria" doesn't really count here because the letter isn't being written but vaguely dictated, but i always thought that was neat.

difficult listening hour, Friday, 28 January 2011 19:52 (fourteen years ago)

btw (xpost to myself) I like how the title of the song is "Do You Remember Walter" and not "Do You Remember, Walter". the lyrics are addressed to "Walter", but the song as a whole asks the listener to enter into a shared experience ("doesn't this remind you of your own childhood?").

the loneliness of the dexys midnight runner (unregistered), Friday, 28 January 2011 19:59 (fourteen years ago)

(/"did you have a "Walter" in your life?")

the loneliness of the dexys midnight runner (unregistered), Friday, 28 January 2011 20:00 (fourteen years ago)

As a sidenote, I was partially horrifed by the half hour of our local "oldies" station I heard during my lunch. They kept advertising their upcoming "Girls of Rock" weekend, teasing about all the "important contributions" women have made to "rock and roll". Then I finally heard the full commerical, these "important contributions"? Uh, apparently just inspiring men to write about them. They won't be playing Heart, Janice Joplin, etc etc... they will be playing "Good Golly Miss Molly", "Barbaran Ann", "Layla" etc etc. It was pretty offensive, and I'm not usually attuned to these sort of things.

one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 28 January 2011 20:01 (fourteen years ago)

gross

the loneliness of the dexys midnight runner (unregistered), Friday, 28 January 2011 20:03 (fourteen years ago)

I guess those 2 I listed don't rly count. I mean, hell, they *could* be letters: but wouldn't the lyrics have to entail some sort of "dear" or "sincerely", even tho thats obv v corny a notion for lyrics to have? I'm not even familiar w/ most of the songs listed here already. I just seemed to think that something that addressed a person directly = could possibly maybe very well be a letter.

The previous message has been brought to you by (kelpolaris), Saturday, 29 January 2011 00:24 (fourteen years ago)

50. Common - The Light

ablaeser, Saturday, 29 January 2011 19:52 (fourteen years ago)

shocked that not a single ilx0r mentioned "will never marry"

all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Sunday, 30 January 2011 04:13 (fourteen years ago)

ROGERMEXICO, THIS IS UR MOMENT

The previous message has been brought to you by (kelpolaris), Sunday, 30 January 2011 05:47 (fourteen years ago)

http://i54.tinypic.com/2pt8k1s.png

the loneliness of the dexys midnight runner (unregistered), Sunday, 30 January 2011 06:04 (fourteen years ago)

How did I miss this one...

51. Throbbing Gristle, Hamburger Lady

... lyrics from a letter sent to Genesis P-Orridge

Tom A. (Tom B.) (Tom C.) (Tom D.), Tuesday, 1 February 2011 12:57 (fourteen years ago)

Matthew Sweet - Teenage Female (lyrics from a fan letter he received)

Hideous Lump, Wednesday, 2 February 2011 04:34 (fourteen years ago)

52.

Hideous Lump, Wednesday, 2 February 2011 04:35 (fourteen years ago)

53. jens lekman - a postcard to nina

bouquet brigade (electricsound), Wednesday, 2 February 2011 04:43 (fourteen years ago)

54. King Crimson - The Letters (in fact two letters get written in this song)

nickn, Thursday, 3 February 2011 02:27 (fourteen years ago)

55. The Dickies - Fan Mail

dlp9001, Thursday, 3 February 2011 04:19 (fourteen years ago)

56. Half A Person - The Smiths

kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 February 2011 04:26 (fourteen years ago)

man this is a long thread, i racked my brain and "21 Questions" was the only one i could think of that even kinda counts

Bearenthetical Grylls (some dude), Thursday, 3 February 2011 04:31 (fourteen years ago)

57. Judy Henske & Jerry Yester - St. Nicholas Hall

Tom A. (Tom B.) (Tom C.) (Tom D.), Thursday, 3 February 2011 12:08 (fourteen years ago)

four years pass...

Kehlani's "The Letter" is breaking my heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAm7P7g1iOM

Tim F, Wednesday, 13 May 2015 13:55 (ten years ago)

"If you weren't gonna guide me / why bring me into the light?"

ice cold

Tim F, Wednesday, 13 May 2015 13:56 (ten years ago)

Got me thinking about other letter songs (not mentioned in this thread!) that I love.

Like Foxy Brown's "The Letter":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxVWn9_y3DA

Tim F, Wednesday, 13 May 2015 13:57 (ten years ago)

or Ani DiFranco's "Letter to a John":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuyPk3VsWCU

Tim F, Wednesday, 13 May 2015 13:58 (ten years ago)


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