Niki N. Phaser

Suffer Little Children was one of the first songs that Johnny Marr and Morrissey ever worked on, after that legendary visit the guitarist paid to the tortured poet. The song has a special relevance for Morrissey, since it is about the Moors murders, which occured in the Manchester area in the 60′s of his childhood. Because of its subject and length, we can’t really blame The Smiths for not putting Suffer Little Children out as a single. In fact, it was a B-side to the Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now single, but the sad truth is that you have to be familiar with The Smiths to have heard this song.

Suffer Little Children is a perfect example of that unique magic embodied by The Smiths. Marr’s guitar picks alone make this track a masterpiece, they are that evocative. They are sad and happy, as someone smiling to comfort a dying child and, of course, the image is completed by Morrissey’s first person lyrics and ghostly vocals, which express no anger, just a constant plea “find me, find me, I am on the moors”. The subtle female laughs towards the end add to the horror already present in the listener’s mind because of the subject and the line “A woman said I know my son is dead I’ll never rest my hands on his sacred head”. If you listen to this song, after reading about the victims of the Moors murders, the effect is amplified immensely.

This is, under no circumstances, the kind of song which pops up on your ipod’s shuffled playlist and you keep on jogging. This is the one you take the time to listen.

SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN

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