It’s been nearly 30 years since Paul Kelly taught the nation how to make gravy – and now he’s back with the long-awaited sequel, Rita Wrote A Letter. It’s part love triangle, part ghost story, part jaunty New Orleans piano romp, and all proof that Kelly’s characters just don’t know how to stay quietly in the songbook where he left them.
The original 1996 How To Make Gravy – once described by Kelly as “a song without a chorus set in prison” – somehow became the ninth-best Australian song of all time, a national holiday (Gravy Day, December 21), a movie, a festival and an excuse for at least one uncle to burn the Christmas roast every year. Not bad for a tune that opens with a letter from jail.
In the sequel, Rita finally gets a say – though, as Kelly admits, Joe still won’t shut up. And it turns out Joe’s worst fear came true: while he was locked up, brother Dan and wife Rita got together, started a family, and now have a baby on the way. The kicker? Joe’s also dead. “By sudden misadventure,” according to a suspiciously cheerful funeral notice. Yet somehow he’s narrating from beyond the grave, proving that rules (both legal and biological) have never been his strong suit.
Despite the premise, Rita Wrote A Letter is far from a dirge. It skips along on a bouncy piano line penned by nephew Dan Kelly, pairing black comedy with bright, foot-tapping joy. “I like songs where the music and lyrics are a little at odds,” says Kelly, which might explain why Joe’s haunting threats to Dan feel almost… danceable.
The music video, starring Justine Clarke as an older Rita, features Kelly himself as a ghost, floating around a vintage St Kilda home while Rita firmly lists his shortcomings: “You could never hold your temper, and you always made it all about you.” Joe wishes her well, but Dan? Not so much.
Kelly hints there might even be a prequel one day to finally reveal what Joe did to end up in prison. “I hadn’t thought about that, but now you mention it…” he teases, as if the characters in his head are still negotiating their contracts.
The new single heralds Kelly’s upcoming album Seventy, a storytelling feast inspired by everything from The Canterbury Tales to The Lord of the Rings, with detours via Cicero and Yeats. The tour kicks off this month, promising arenas full of classics, fresh tracks and possibly a few more clues about Joe’s chequered past.
In the meantime, the question remains: now that Joe’s gone for good, who’s going to make the gravy? Australia waits, ladle in hand.
Images: Instagram
