America 250 Rocktober Song #19: "Death Letter" by The White Stripes

Thanks to a combination of work and watching the Brewers win their first-ever World Series last night, I didn't have time to post a Rocktober song yesterday.  But alas, I will make it up to you, dear readers, by posting two today.

The first comes from Detroit, Michigan and my favorite American band of all-time, The White Stripes.  There were several options for a spooky or Halloween-appropriate song -- "Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground," "Bone Broke," "Death Letter," "Little Ghost" (though that's not necessarily rocking)," Rag & Bone," "Walking With a Ghost," and "Red Death at 6:14," for example.

I decided to go with what I consider the most "American" of the options, "Death Letter," off of the band's sophomore album, 2000's De Stijl.  Originally recorded by Delta Blues legend Son House, I was shocked to learn it was recorded in 1965, as House was party of the early wave of Delta Blues in the '30s and, well, the original sounds like it was recorded much earlier than 1965.  The song is about a guy who gets a letter telling him his special ladyfriend had died -- a death letter, if you will -- and he even goes to the morgue to see her laying on the cooling board.  Then the rest of the song is about his mental anguish.  They don't call it "the blues" for nothing, am I right?

Anyway, The White Stripes electrified the song, paying homage to the original while also making it their own.  And they even give it a little Detroit feel with a nice revving guitar solo.