Little One

Contrary to what others have been posting, I doubt that this song is about crack. Crack stimulates the nervous system and probably wouldn't inspire the delicate, dreamy, sedated nature of "Little One". Heroin fits the description much more closely. There are a few double meanings in this song that stand out. For one, the title and overall sound bring to mind a lullaby for a small child. Smith himself seems to be reduced to the status of a child in the lyrics, lured by the deceptive force of the drug like an earnest kid being pulled into a villain's arms in exchange for candy, begging for "one more, little one" and promising to "go down, and stay down". He fools himself into believing that one dose of this vice will be enough, that he won't ever need more and that it won't eventually wear off. This, too, is a typically childlike notion, stubborn and lacking foresight. Of course, one also gets the sense that he is fantasizing about actually taking his last dose, his overdose, and finally drifting a peaceful death. Upon listening to this song, one is struck by the absence of Smith's characteristic quiet rage and passion, as if this flame had been vanquished by a sheet of slivery water. It's no less brilliant than his other work; it's just as if the that frustrated, insatiable, fully human side of him has finally dissolved, paving the way for the death of his physical body. Not only has he anticipated his own death; it is almost as if he is communicating to us from his own grave on this track.
Quite a bitter-sweet end to an enigmatic life; bitter for us, as we have lost a visionary artist in the middle of his career, but perhaps more a sweet relief for the troubled Smith himself.