Radiohead – Little by Little

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Send "Little by Little" Ringtone to Cell

Turn to nasty now
The dark cell
The pillar of my soul
The last one out of the box
The one who broke this spell

Little by little by hook or by crook
I'm such a tease
And you're such a flirt
Once you've been hurt
You've been around enough

Little by little by hook or by crook
Never get earnest
Never get judged
I'm no idiot
I should look

Your clue on hold, snapped up
Crawling with my love
The last one out of the box
The one that broke the seal

Obligation
Complication
Routines and schedules
Drug and kill you
Kill you

Little by little by hook or by crook
Never get nervous
Never get judged
I'm no idiot
I should look

Little by little by hook or by crook
I'm such a tease
And you're such a flirt

Send "Little by Little" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by Joshoewaa, edited by graemepryc, MrMagpie, Dork21, Mellow_Harsher

Track duration: 04:27

"Little by Little" as written by Thomas Edward/greenwood Yorke

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Little by Little song meanings
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37 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:"Drug and kill you"

    Tell me I'm not the only one who hears "and a job that will kill you" ?




    I just checked a live version and that's definitely what he sings. (Look up little by little radiohead on youtube and it should be the second result, titled "Radiohead - Little By Little", uploaded by thaFozzMan)

    It's a little callback to OK Computer and No Surprises :D
    "A job that slowly kills you..."
    Flag Ryuhzaon March 16, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:Some of these comments are good but some are just silly! I saw Radiohead perform this at Glastonbury 2011 and a few weeks back at another concert. I think the listed lyrics are as close to what he says as were going to get.
    People always assume practically every song is a love song or about couples! Thom Yorke rarely writes love songs, I think if you are starting out with the idea that every song can be interpreted to be about feelings and love then you are heading right down the wrong alley. Reading practically any interview with Thom about his songwriting says that. I think its about pressures of modern life and how the whole consumer world we are forced to partake in is quite an evil thing. But unlike some on here I am prepared to accept that is just my opinion. All songs should just mean whatever you think they mean for you. I am a songwriter and I am happy for people to take whatever they want from my lyrics if it gives them comfort and I'm sure Thom feels the same.
    Flag graemeprycon October 13, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think its about bottling up your emotions till the point of just not caring until that one moment where you just unleash them. Or either about a significant other that has been not what they seem and you should of paid more attention to see what they were truly like.
    Flag xavierpon April 02, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I thought he kept saying
    "Never get noticed, never get judged."

    It seemed to make sense, but I'll take your word for it.
    I don't own a physical copy so I don't know if there's a lyric sheet or not, so I'm not gonna argue it.

    It's a great song anyway, my favorite on KOL.
    Flag RueArsinson January 16, 2012   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:It's about how technology, as it advances, becomes more and more dangerous and life-threatening, how it makes it more difficult for the planet to sustain us, and how we become increasingly more uncertain as to whether or not these advances will have any long-term or permanent effects or if the effects can ever be reversed. Advances in technology stem from curiosity and are not born out of pure evil, like with Einstein learning about splitting the atom, which inevitably turns into the first atomic bomb. We're so curious as a species and the planet just happens to have the right ingredients for our lethal recipes that we can't seem to help ourselves and we just have to keep growing more terrible in the name of scientific research. In a way, we flirt with the planet and test its limits and then later make the excuse that the planet was asking for it by teasing us and tempting us with its resources.
    Flag miwion January 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:when he says 'once you've been around you've been around enough' he seems to be making a reference to how the downbeat changes near the end of the song. After you catch the different downbeat and you've listened to the song a few times over (once you've been around), you might recognize the downbeat right around the time he says that line.
    Flag miwion January 01, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i hear:
    your glue won't hold the flattened bug
    crawling with my love
    Flag miwion January 01, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think, actually…it's about being afraid to commit, and then finally meeting someone who gives you hope…but the process of learning to love is slow, you have to take it little by little.
    Flag Malarkeyon December 07, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:is "the depths of hell" instead of "the dark cell. you can hear this on the live versions
    Flag screenvalueon October 14, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The last one out of the box...
    Flag SexyMageon August 20, 2011   Link

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