In Monday’s (August 11) edition of The Age, legendary singer-songwriter Paul Kelly published a death notice for “Joe,” the incarcerated narrator of his 1996 classic, “How to Make Gravy.”
The obituary, tucked away on page 33, announced that Joe had passed away due to “sudden misadventure.” It described him as a cherished father, husband, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle to Dan, Rita, Stella, Roger, Mary, Angus, Frank, and Dolly. Which fans would know are all names lifted directly from the song.
The notice also revealed funeral details for Thursday, August 14, followed by “a wake to end all wakes.”
This comes only one week after Kelly shared a short clip to social media of actress Justine Clarke writing a letter, accompanied by a previously unreleased song. The lyrics teased, “Rita wrote a letter, this is what she had to say,” hinting at Rita, Joe’s wife in the original song.
Kelly has previously hinted at a sequel to the iconic song from Rita’s perspective, tied to a New Orleans-style piano piece created by his nephew, Dan Kelly.
“I always wanted to explore her point of view in that situation,” Paul Kelly shared. “It took a darker turn, but I can’t say much more than that.”
First released in 1996, “How to Make Gravy” has become a beloved staple of the Australian music scene, with its December 21st lyric giving rise to the annual “Gravy Day” tradition.
The song took on new life in 2024 with the release of a Binge Original film of the same name, starring Hugo Weaving, Brenton Thwaites, and Daniel Henshall as Joe, with Kelly making a cameo. Though monday’s obituary has fueled speculation about a potential movie sequel, though Binge confirmed to The Age that “no sequel is planned at this stage.”
If Kelly does release new music soon, fans will likely get a chance to hear it during his upcoming headlining arena tour which kicks off on Tuesday, August 26, in Perth, the tour will make stops in Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne, and New Zealand, offering plenty of opportunities to experience his latest work live.
But the most important question raised out of all this is with Joe gone, who’s going to make the gravy?
