Suffer Little Children (5:26)
283,755 plays (61,263 listeners)
“Suffer Little Children”, the 11th and last song from The Smiths’ debut album The Smiths, is about the Moors murders that took place on Saddleworth Moor in Lancashire on the outskirts of Greater Manchester from 1963 to 1965. The murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley who were in a relationship at the time. When the truth emerged about the fate of the missing children, the nation’s grief was matched by its hatred for Brady and Hindley.
The song was originally released as a track on the band’s debut album in February 1984 but did not cause a huge amount of controversy until it came out as a B-side of the single, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” three months later. The Sun newspaper then started a campaign against the single, claiming it to be in bad taste. The campaign resulted in some shops refusing to stock the record.
When the grandfather of one of the victims heard the song playing on a pub jukebox he became furious at what he felt was cynical profiteering from the horrific murders. He sought legal action to suppress the record, but later stopped after talking to Morrissey and realizing the sincerity of the lyrics. Morrissey also established a relationship with Lesley Ann Downey’s mother, Ann - Lesley is mentioned by name in the song. Morrissey has stated previously that the murders deeply affected him as a child.
The song was originally released as a track on the band’s debut album in February 1984 but did not cause a huge amount of controversy until it came out as a B-side of the single, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” three months later. The Sun newspaper then started a campaign against the single, claiming it to be in bad taste. The campaign resulted in some shops refusing to stock the record.
When the grandfather of one of the victims heard the song playing on a pub jukebox he became furious at what he felt was cynical profiteering from the horrific murders. He sought legal action to suppress the record, but later stopped after talking to Morrissey and realizing the sincerity of the lyrics. Morrissey also established a relationship with Lesley Ann Downey’s mother, Ann - Lesley is mentioned by name in the song. Morrissey has stated previously that the murders deeply affected him as a child.
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Added by danielearwicker
Tried playing it on the Telecaster (as used on the recording) and it sounded bland. So switched to Rickenbacker and I just prefer it, it's got so much more character.
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Shouts
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Microfoot wrote:
Brave New World quote!
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WeFlyBalloons wrote:
Oh Manchester, so much to answer for.
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Dylanisgod2 wrote:
that guitar playing... ahhhfsfbjk!
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Renegadesteve2 wrote:
Ohh Manchester, So much to answer for. Best song from the debut possibly.
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joe1234567891 wrote:
such a cheerful song..............
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HumHumXX wrote:
The Tate Sessions version has a lovely piano outro. Worth hearing.
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Simon_FM wrote:
Ohh Manchester, So much to answer for.
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Olle93 wrote:
I love the guitar in this one
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arturobandini2 wrote:
Wonderful lyrics... Brilliant song.... sad and haunting... So clever
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nouvellevie wrote:
"Suffer little children," said the Controller.
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luckylollyme wrote:
you might sleep but you'll never dream....brilliant....
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basilwh wrote:
Superb song
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RenauIt wrote:
best ending to an album ever
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dbod wrote:
She may be dead and she may be gone
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CleanSpoon wrote:
the tempo and guitar are just perfect
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CleanSpoon wrote:
probably my favorite Smiths song
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The-Evil_Dead wrote:
Remarkably haunting & beautiful. One of the best songs ever...
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BennyT11 wrote:
conjures up more emotion in 5 minutes than red riding did in nearly 5 hours
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hotterthanjuly wrote:
Yeah, it's stolid. Although scarlet would make a beautiful substitute.
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Miss_Shankly wrote:
eeeerie!
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Recent Activity
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drakesdrum added Suffer Little Children to their Loved Tracks. yesterday afternoon
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kathereibe tagged Suffer Little Children with ‘80s’. yesterday afternoon
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astridandrene, RONNIETABASCO, JackMolloy and 3 other people loved The Smiths – Suffer Little Children. Sunday afternoon
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i_am_machine tagged Suffer Little Children with ‘indie rock’. last week
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Ubbelohde, karolakrow, certifiablegeek and 43 other people loved The Smiths – Suffer Little Children. last week
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tmfm added Suffer Little Children to tmfm’s library. October 2009
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kingdomofthesky, imbored, mizry and 2 other people loved The Smiths – Suffer Little Children. October 2009
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gandydancer tagged The Smiths – Suffer Little Children with painful truths and tears and sadness. October 2009
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gandydancer added Suffer Little Children to the playlist. October 2009
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gandydancer, anrimal, grl-afraid and 3 other people loved The Smiths – Suffer Little Children. October 2009
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