Weezer’s mildly creepy “Across the Sea” is just one of many love songs in which the protagonist needs a letter to express their feelings.

In honor of the U.S. Postal Service’s decision to end Saturday mail, juxtaposed with indie electronic group The Postal Service’s announcement of a new tour and release of a new single, “A Tattered Line of String,” here are some of the best songs about mail and the post.

“Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes

Singing in the early ‘60s, Marvelettes vocalist Gladys Horton did not have the same privilege of instant communication afforded to Hellogoodbye when they sang about the mail 40 years later. In this song, Horton desperately hounds the poor mailman for a letter from her boyfriend who has been away at war. It’s not clear what Horton and her fellow Marvelettes believe the postman can do, aside from forging a letter to get the girls off his tail. However, it did result in a catchy Motown tune, replete with the line “Deliver de letter/ de sooner de better.” The song has gone on to be covered many times, most notably by the Carpenters and the Beatles.

“Dear Jamie…Sincerely Me” by Hellogoodbye

This song, written in the same depressing yet cute electropop style harnessed by The Postal Service and released in 2004 on the band’s self-titled first EP, is the story of a boy confessing his love through the mail. Few before or after former Hellogoodbye member Jesse Kurvink have so eloquently and adorably penned the trials and tribulations of analog love: “Dear Jamie, this envelope will represent my heart/ I’ll seal it, send it off and wish it luck with its depart…/ Should I trust the postage due/ to deliver my heart to you?” The band went on to record many more songs about love, including “Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn,” a track from the very same EP, which made use of the nearly extinct AIM message sound, proving even Kurvink was moving into more digital forms of communication.

“Across the Sea” by Weezer

Once again comes a song about long-distance romance made possible by the USPS, though this one errs on the side of creepy. According to Weezerpedia (the online Weezer encyclopedia), frontman Rivers Cuomo wrote the song about a letter from a young girl in Japan asking him about his time at Harvard University in the ‘90s, a period during which Cuomo had been extremely depressed. Cuomo said he fell in love with the girl upon receiving the letter, but he never contacted her, knowing the girl was probably too young and couldn’t speak English. In the chorus, Cuomo sings, “Why are you so far away from me?/ I need you and you’re way across the sea/ I could never touch you/ I think it would be wrong/ but I’ve got your letter/ and you’ve got my song.” He later penned another song about his affinity for Asian women, “El Scorcho,” which reads, “God damn you half-Japanese girls/ you do it to me every time.” According to Weezerpedia, Cuomo proposed to his Japanese-American wife Kyoto Ito while they were in Tokyo in 2005.

“Stan” by Eminem

For songs about mail, there are few better or more haunting than “Stan,” the eerie seven-minute rap epic that details one crazed Eminem fan’s correspondence with the rapper. Sampling Dido’s “Thank You” for the chorus, Eminem plays the role of Stan, who believes himself to be Eminem’s No. 1 fan. Stan gets more and more agitated as time goes by without receiving any response to his three letters, even though Eminem said he would. Misunderstood by almost everyone around him because of his obsession and what appear to be serious problems with his home life and mental illness, Stan kidnaps his pregnant girlfriend, gets drunk and records one final tape on his way to a bridge. Eminem writes his response letter a few weeks later, belatedly realizing he is far too late. Despite Eminem’s reputation for self-deprecation and humorous raps, “Stan” is a fantastic example of the musician’s ability to be introspective and poetic about the influence that comes with fame.

“Letter Home” by Defiance, Ohio

Defiance, Ohio is a lesser-known folk-punk band whose namesake is a place not far from their hometown in Columbus, Ohio. Its 2006 song, “Letter Home,” is a New Year’s Eve address to an anonymous friend. It discusses the good and bad of life away from home, replete with Emily Dickinson graffiti, criticism of war and reflections on changing lives, ending on a moment of hope: “But the miracles in motion/ finding new places we belong/ and finding inspiration to sing our brand new songs.” It’s a pretty picture of suburban life, a blatant political attack and a showcase of the band’s intelligence (in addition to Dickinson, references include Grendel and Gilgamesh), all rolled up into a short and sweet minute and 32 seconds.

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