“Tell us a story” …That’s how Paul Kelly begins his forthcoming album SEVENTY, an invitation as old as childhood, whispered from the back seat of a family car or around a glowing campfire. Who better to ask than Australia’s master storyteller himself? For more than 45 years, Paul Kelly has chronicled lives, characters and contradictions with matchless insight and heart.
Kelly’s new album SEVENTY will be released on Friday November 7th. Having celebrated his 70th birthday in January, this deeply personal collection finds Kelly taking stock of the life lived so far, loading the table with all the tools of his trade. It’s his most stylistically diverse album yet: folk, rock, balladry, country, blue-eyed soul, all of Kelly’s songwriting selves in one body of work, performed with the confidence of a songwriter and band at the height of their powers.
The striking cover portrait by Dean Podmore deliberately harkens back to Jon Lewis’s iconic 1988 image of a young Paul Kelly, creating a visual bridge across almost four decades. SEVENTY is an album about collecting, connecting and reflecting — a celebration of continuity.
The first single is ‘Rita Wrote A Letter’, accompanied by a beautiful new video starring Australian screen favourite Justine Clarke, directed by Imogen McCluskey and produced by Jessica Carrera (Dollhouse Pictures). It might be the most anticipated ‘sequel’ in Australian music history, because almost thirty years ago, in Kelly’s unmistakable Christmas classic ‘How To Make Gravy’, we first met characters named Dan, Joe, and Rita…
‘Rita Wrote A Letter’ lyrics:
I really don’t know how I’m talking
Six feet down and under the clay
The laws of nature forbid it
But I was never good with rules anyway
The day I walked out of prison
I knew that I was still in stir
For the crime committed I was still doing time
Behind the walls between me and her
Rita wrote a letter
I keep it with me every day
Rita wrote a letter
And this is what she had to say
She said, ‘Joe I’m really sorry
But me and Dan, our love is here to stay
With the kids it’s getting better
And now a little baby’s on the way’
Well, they took me back on at the restaurant
But the new cook there had stolen my game
They put me on the dishes and the pots and pans
I was happy being busy again
And every night when I came home
With my back and feet all aching sore
I‘d lay there in Mary’s spare room
Tossing ‘til the break of dawn
Oh, Rita wrote a letter
One you don’t want to get from your wife
When Rita writes a letter
The pen is sharper than the knife
She said, ‘Joe, I gave you good chances
But half a year turned into two
You could never hold your temper
And you always made it all about you’
Oh, the phone calls they started to dwindle
Once they moved further up the coast
Those silences that dragged on forever
I couldn’t find the words I needed the most
One day I went to see an old friend
And I brought a little package home
For old times’ sake sweet oblivion
But some things you shouldn’t do alone
Yeah, Rita wrote a letter
I’m still hugging it under the clay
Rita wrote a letter
Deep down I know it’s better this way
And maybe she and Dan feel guilty
And the children sometimes cry at night
But I made my bed, I’m lying in it
And I know they’re gonna be alright
Oh, Rita wrote a letter
I will always love her
Be the ghost above her
Hover all around her
But Dan, I don’t forgive you
Oh, I didn’t mean to say that
It’s just my mind it plays up
Multiplies each matter
Originally released in 1996 as a standalone single, How To Make Gravy is a Christmas song unlike any other — a five-minute letter written from prison inmate Joe, who sends season’s greetings (and his gravy recipe) to family and friends spending Christmas Day without him. Set to a sparse guitar line and evocative melody, its raw humanity struck an immediate chord. Over the years it has become enshrined as a modern Australian standard, honoured annually on December 21 (“Gravy Day”), the date Joe writes his letter from prison.
The new song Rita Wrote A Letter revisits that world — this time told from Rita’s perspective — adding another layer to the story in classic Kelly fashion.
“I’ve been mulling over the idea of a sequel to How To Make Gravy from Rita’s point of view for quite some time,” Kelly says. “About five years ago I wrote down the words, ‘Rita wrote a letter’, and thought — there’s my title. I scratched away intermittently and fruitlessly for years, until Dan Kelly sent me a piano demo. The words surged after that. You could say the song took a dark turn, but to my mind it’s a black comedy — a ghost story. You hear Rita’s voice loud and clear, but Joe talks even more. I couldn’t shut him up!”
Director Imogen McCluskey adds: “I was inspired by my own family’s ghost stories — funny and tender tales about the thin membrane between this world and the next. I hope the iconic lore of Rita and Joe continues to touch PK fans new and old.”
The mythology of How To Make Gravy will reach a new audience again soon — a feature film inspired by the song is currently in production, backed by Warner Bros. Australia with a script by Nick Waterman and Meg Lefauve (Inside Out) and produced by Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories (Big Little Lies). The movie will bring Joe, Dan, Rita and the world of that unforgettable letter to the big screen — testament to the song’s enduring emotional pull.
With SEVENTY, Paul Kelly does what he has always done best: telling the stories that connect us — to the past, to each other, and to something far bigger than any single song.
20 Paul Kelly songs if you don’t know you should:
1. How To Make Gravy (1996)
Album: Songs from the South (compilation, originally a standalone single)
A Christmas classic told via a letter from prison inmate Joe to his family, sharing regret, longing, and a gravy recipe.
2. To Her Door (1987)
Album: Gossip
A moving story of a man trying to reconcile with his estranged wife, showcasing Kelly’s signature narrative songwriting.
3. Dumb Things (1988)
Album: Under the Sun
Upbeat folk-rock with catchy hooks, famously featured in the Young Einstein soundtrack.
4. Before Too Long (1986)
Album: Gossip
Early hit single; a brisk, melodic song about urgency and connection in relationships.
5. From Little Things Big Things Grow (1991)
Album: Hidden Things (compilation)
Co-written with Kev Carmody, telling the story of the Gurindji strike and the fight for Indigenous land rights.
6. Darling It Hurts (1986)
Album: Gossip
Raw, emotional rock exploring heartbreak and disillusionment in urban life.
7. Leaps and Bounds (1986)
Album: Gossip
Love letter to Melbourne, evoking city streets, the MCG, and personal memories.
8. If I Could Start Today Again (2001)
Album: Nothing But a Dream
Reflective, acoustic ballad about regret and the desire for a second chance.
9. Firewood and Candles (2017)
Album: Life Is Fine
Nostalgic, romantic tune with a Motown-inspired groove and timeless warmth.
10. Sweet Guy (1989)
Album: So Much Water So Close to Home
Told from a woman’s perspective, exploring the complexities of a flawed romantic relationship.
11. Deeper Water (1995)
Album: Deeper Water
Poetic reflection on growing up, love, and the passage of time.
12. Careless (1989)
Album: So Much Water So Close to Home
Regretful but catchy pop-rock track, highlighting Kelly’s storytelling and melodic skills.
13. God Told Me To (2012)
Album: Spring and Fall
Darkly humorous blues-rock song drawing on biblical imagery.
14. Song From the Sixteenth Floor (1987)
Album: Gossip
Haunting narrative of immigration and alienation, set against urban Sydney.
15. They Thought I Was Asleep (2012)
Album: Spring and Fall
Slice-of-life song from a child’s perspective of parents driving late at night, tender and observant.
16. Everything’s Turning to White (1989)
Album: So Much Water So Close to Home
Poetic and chilling story inspired by Raymond Carver, blending crime and emotional numbness.
17. When I First Met Your Ma (1992)
Album: Hidden Things (compilation)
Tender acoustic love song reflecting on early romantic encounters and memories.
18. How To Make Gravy (Live Versions)
Album: Live at the Continental and the Esplanade (1995)
Kelly’s celebrated live performances add further depth and intimacy to the original story.
19. Before Too Long (Live Versions)
Album: Live at the Continental and the Esplanade (1995)
Energetic live rendition that became a crowd favourite, highlighting Kelly’s performance charisma.
20. Meet Me in the Middle of the Air (2005)
Album: Ways & Means
Gospel-influenced spiritual song inspired by Psalm 23, with soulful instrumentation and uplifting lyrics.
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