The White Lady Loves You More

You guys who are getting worked up in a debate over whether Elliott was referring specifically to heroin or cocaine are seriously missing the point of this song. You're missing the forest for the trees. This song is one of the most profound accounts of what addiction feels like that I've ever heard in my life. It's a standout (among so many flawless songs) from the self-titled album.

I've always been in awe of how his voice and delivery could be so fragile, yet the words themselves pack such a vicious punch...the effect is both spellbinding and devastating.

"I'm looking at a hand full of broken plans And I'm tired of playing it down You just want her to do anything for you There ain't nothing that you won't allow"

Doesn't this just speak for itself? Brilliant. Elliott Smith was one of the realest songwriters out there, RIP friend.

This is the best song about addiction I have ever heard. The first time I listened to it, it made cry. There are many songs about drug addiction, but usually they are about battles with the drug itself and not about the personal relationships it destroys. This song seems so private, that it is almost uncomfortable to hear. How brilliant to write the lyrics from the standpoint of a girlfriend who is jealous of this other "lady".

Actually, the "metal man" could refer to a bent spoon used to cook up heroin, or to the syringe itself, with its metal needle.

And an addict doesn't need to be hooked on an upper to need a fix to get going. An opiate addict goes through awful withdrawals when they go without a fix for too long, and at a certain level of addiction one needs the drug just to feel normal - to quell the shaking and nausea etc. It seems likely to me that the addict Elliott is referring to has reached this point - he or she doesn't just shoot up once in a while to get high, they need it day in and day out to feel "normal" - to "pick up their feet".

Its also important to note the many references to heroin that are sprinkled throughout the s/t album. Why would the topic of discussion change so dramatically now? Its obvious to me that the drug use of people around him was affecting Elliott dramatically at this time ... why they would suddenly change their DOC is beyond me. It doesn't make sense. So I'm not buying....

To Love, you won this white lady (haa) (yeah, yeah, yeah... whatever. It's just a color. Nothing meaningful, per se) over the moment you threw her around. Ahhhhhhh..... such a sweet memory. And recollection. Come now.. throw me around again tonight. 😉😘

He says ‘need a middle man (dealer) just to pick up your feet’ Metal is probably foil but yeah can be needle and that spoon thing you get in a needle pack as well. This song is 100 percent about heroin NOT cocaine!!

This song is clearly about being in love with a woman who's hooked on cocaine ("the white lady"). "Metal" is a slang term I'm unfamiliar with, though, but it's a fair bet it's about drugs.

Close, but no cigar... "The White Lady" is a term for heroin, noteworthy. It's about a love for the drug, not for a woman.

i'm pretty sure that "metal" refers to a needle.

This is another of his great songs where he packs so much anguish in a beautiful, delicate package. It's a lilting waltz, yet it's about the pain of loving someone addicted to heroin. He uses the phrase "thrown over" which was used in the early part of the 20th century for, as we so crassly put it, being dumped. Just a beautiful song.

it seems like it is about being in love with someone who is addicted to some sort of drug, maybe specifically herion in this case. being traded in for the drug. i believe this song is written from the perspective of the person who was in love with him while he was going through his addiction. pretty deep.