"Tear-Stained Letter" is the opening track from Richard Thompson's 1983 album '' Hand of Kindness''. The song has been recorded by others, including a notable hit version by

Jo-El Sonnier Jo-El Sonnier (; born Joel Sonnier; October 2, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and accordionist who performs country music and Cajun music. Originally signed to Mercury Nashville Records, Sonnier charted several minor singles on the '' B ...

in 1988.

Content

With a strong

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

feel, the song's length is 4 minutes and 40 seconds. The main riff is performed on saxophones by Pete Thomas and

Pete Zorn Pete Zorn (29 May 1950 – 19 April 2016) was an American multi-instrumentalist who was a longstanding member of Richard Thompson's backing band. He was also a member of Steeleye Span, The Albion Band, and Driver 67. Career As a member of Th ...

, who also performs the background vocals, and on accordion by John Kirkpatrick. The coda features a duet between a sax solo, accordion solo, and guitar solo by Richard Thompson. The song is in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...

, with a fast tempo in 4/4 time. It uses a chord pattern of E7-A-E7-A-D-G on the verses, and B7-C-D-G twice on the chorus. The lyrics feature a narrator who has broken up with a tumultuous romantic partner: "Just when I thought that things would get better / Right through the door come a tear-stained letter".

Personnel

* Richard Thompson -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

Dave Pegg Dave Pegg (born 2 November 1947) is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician and as a performing artist. Apart from playing the drums, he ...

- drums *

Simon Nicol Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

, backing vocals * Pete Thomas -

* Clive Gregson - backing vocals * John Kirkpatrick - accordion

Jo-El Sonnier version

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

covered the song on his 1988 album ''Come On Joe''. His version was released as a single in 1988, reaching number nine on the Hot Country Songs charts. Kenny Greenberg plays

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

on Sonnier's version. Actor

Judge Reinhold Edward Ernest "Judge" Reinhold Jr. (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor who has starred in several Hollywood movies, such as '' Ruthless People'', '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', '' Stripes'' and '' Gremlins'', and co-starred in all of the ...

appears in the music video for the song.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

covered the song on her 1996 album '' The Trouble with the Truth''.

Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes are an American musical group from the Jersey Shore led by Southside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They have recor ...

covered the song on their 2005 album ''Into the Harbour''. Jimmy Buckley covered the song on his 2017 album ''California Cotton Fields''.https://www.allmusic.com/album/california-cotton-fields-mw0003017401/releases

References

{{Jo-El Sonnier 1983 songs 1988 singles Richard Thompson (musician) songs Jo-El Sonnier songs Patty Loveless songs Song recordings produced by Joe Boyd RCA Records Nashville singles Songs written by Richard Thompson (musician)