Death Letter

"Death Letter", also known as "Death Letter Blues", is the signature song of the Delta blues musician Son House. It is structured upon House's earlier recording "My Black Mama, Part 2" from 1930. House's 1965 performance was on a metal-bodied National resonator guitar using a copper slide.

One commentator noted that it is "one of the most anguished and emotionally stunning laments in the Delta blues œuvre."

Lyrics

Lyrically, the song is about a man who learns of the death of the woman he loves through a letter delivered to him early in the morning. The narrator later views her body on the cooling board at the morgue, attends her funeral, and returns to his home in a state of depression.

House's lyrics draw from traditional sources. Other blues musicians recorded related songs, including Lead Belly ("Death Letter Blues"), Ishman Bracey ("Trouble Hearted Blues"), Ida Cox ("Death Letter Blues"), Robert Wilkins ("Nashville Stonewall") and Blind Willie McTell ("On The Cooling Board").

Death Letter (EP)

Death Letter is an extended play by the Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. The EP was released on December 4, 2012. Death Letter contains songs from their entire discography reworked for acoustic guitar. Of the six songs on the EP, 4 are from their last full-length album, Old Crows/Young Cardinals. It was the band's last release before their break up, and serves as an accompaniment to their farewell tour that took place in December 2012.

Writing and recording

Death Letter was presumably recorded sometime prior to the band's farewell tour, which spanned several cities in 15 shows. The EP features reworked songs from Alexisonfire's previous albums, specifically Old Crows/Young Cardinals, Crisis and Watch Out!. A press release from Dine Alone Records said that the EP contained six old Alexisonfire tunes reworked by guitarists Wade MacNeil and Dallas Green at Jukasa Studios in Ohsweken, Ontario, without involvement of the three other members of the band.

Release

The EP was made available for streaming on December 10, 2012, on exclaim.ca, as well as on the Dine Alone Records Soundcloud page. It was released as a final piece of work before the band commenced their final tour.