Death Letter
E608847
"Death Letter" is a seminal Delta blues song, best known through Son House's powerful slide-guitar performance and anguished vocal delivery.
Statements (40)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Delta blues song
ⓘ
song ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Son House NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithTheme |
betrayal
ⓘ
funeral ⓘ spiritual torment ⓘ |
| composer | Son House NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| genre | Delta blues NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| guitarStyle | bottleneck slide guitar ⓘ |
| guitarTuning | open G or open D (slide) ⓘ |
| hasCoverVersion |
Chris Thomas King
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Gov’t Mule NERFINISHED ⓘ James Blood Ulmer NERFINISHED ⓘ The Derek Trucks Band NERFINISHED ⓘ The Grateful Dead NERFINISHED ⓘ The White Stripes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasCulturalStatus |
blues standard
ⓘ
seminal Delta blues recording ⓘ |
| hasPart |
call-and-response vocals and guitar
ⓘ
slide guitar introduction ⓘ |
| influencedGenre |
blues rock
ⓘ
garage rock revival ⓘ |
| inspiredByTradition | Delta blues tradition ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| lyricalPerspective | first-person narrator ⓘ |
| lyricist | Son House NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
death
ⓘ
grief ⓘ loss ⓘ |
| narrativeFocus | receiving a letter about a lover’s death ⓘ |
| notableFor |
anguished vocal delivery
ⓘ
slide guitar performance ⓘ |
| notablePerformanceBy | Son House NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| performanceType | solo voice and guitar ⓘ |
| performer | Son House NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| tempo | slow to mid-tempo blues ⓘ |
| typicalSetting | rural American South ⓘ |
| vocalRange | raw, intense baritone ⓘ |
| vocalStyle | shouted blues vocal ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.