<\/p>\n
Paul Kelly is celebrating his milestone year with SEVENTY<\/em>, a sprawling new album out November 7th, and a single that fans have been waiting on for nearly three decades.<\/p>\n \u201cRita Wrote a Letter\u201d picks up the story from his 1996 classic \u201cHow to Make Gravy\u201d, only this time with Rita \u201cloud and clear,\u201d and Joe still talking from beyond the grave.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been mulling over the idea of a sequel to \u2018How to Make Gravy\u2019 from Rita\u2019s point of view for quite some time,\u201d Kelly says. \u201cAbout five years ago I wrote down the words, \u2018Rita wrote a letter,\u2019 and thought, \u2018There\u2019s my title.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n After \u201cscratching around fruitlessly\u201d for several years, his nephew Dan sent Kelly a recording of something he\u2019d written on the piano with a rough melody over the top.<\/p>\n \u201cThe words started rolling after that,\u201d Kelly says. \u201cAs often happens, they took me by surprise. You could say the song took a dark turn but to my mind it\u2019s a black comedy. A ghost story. You hear Rita\u2019s voice loud and clear, but Joe talks even more. I couldn\u2019t shut him up!\u201d<\/p>\n The song\u2019s lyrics cut with the kind of wit and weight Kelly\u2019s famous for: \u201cRita wrote a letter \/ One you don\u2019t want to get from your wife \/ When Rita writes a letter \/ The pen is sharper than the knife.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Its video \u2014 directed by Imogen McCluskey, starring Justine Clarke, and produced by Jessica Carrera \u2014 leans into the haunted humour. \u201c\u201dI was inspired to tap into my own family\u2019s ghost stories when approaching the creative for Paul Kelly\u2019s \u2018Rita Wrote a Letter\u2019,\u201d McClusky says. \u201cOften funny and tender, they speak to the thin membrane between this world and the next, and the messages that reach us from beyond the grave. I hope the iconic lore of Rita and Joe continues to touch PK fans new and old.\u201d<\/p>\n Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian\/New Zealand music and globally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nLove Music?<\/h2>\n