Postcard

Album: Ruins (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This heartbroken country ballad has been around for a long time. The first verse and chorus of the song were written by First Aid Kit's Klara Söderberg during a Lucinda Williams concert in 2013. Her sister Johanna recalled to Consequence of Sound: "She was so inspired she had to write the lyrics down on her phone. She felt guilty because if Lucinda saw her in the crowd it must've looked like she was texting the whole show. She just couldn't help but feel super inspired."
  • The spoken "pick it for me James" line in the song is a reference to Gram Parsons' "Return of the Grievous Angel," which was the title track of the late American musician's second and last album. First Aid Kit explained:

    "It's one of our favorite songs of all time. Gram was referring to James Burton, the guitarist he had borrowed from Elvis' band. We didn't have anyone called James in our band, it's actually our dear friend and band member Steve Moore who plays that lovely piano part."

Comments: 1

  • Peter from St. MaartenHad sent to woman friend after mutual break-up. Said it all for each of us. Of course tears...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.