Little Things

## *Take Me Home* Chronology

**Little Things** is the second single of One Direction from *Take Me Home*. It was released in the UK on October 29, 2012 and globally on December 3, 2012. It became One Direction's second worldwide #1 single, reaching the top of the charts in 12 countries.

Lyrically, the narrator describes the insecurities of a romantic partner and reassures them that these perceived imperfections only serve to make the narrator love them more.

## Background

"Little Things" was written by British singer-songwriters Ed Sheeran and Fiona Bevan, and produced by Jake Gosling. In February 2012, One Direction expressed interest in working with Sheeran for their second studio album. In June 2012, Sheeran disclosed that One Direction would be recording two of his songs.

 In October 2012, Sheeran acknowledged Bevan's songwriting credit in an interview with British radio network Capital FM: "The great thing about it is I wrote that song with a girl called Fiona Bevan when I was 17 and we lost the song. I've kept in touch with Fiona, we've done gigs and stuff and about two months ago she sent me the tune and was like, 'Oh, do you remember this?' I was like, 'Yeah, I do remember that', and I was in the studio with the One Direction boys at the time and I was playing it and they were like, 'We really like that'. It's got one of my favourite lines that I've ever written in a song." On October 15, 2012, Tomlinson confirmed via social networking website Twitter that "Little Things" would serve as the second single of their second studio album *Take Me Home*.

## Lyrics

**[Zayn]**

Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me

But bear this in mind, it was meant to be

And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks

And it all makes sense to me

**[Liam]**

I know you've never loved the crinkles by your eyes when you smile

You've never loved your stomach or your thighs

The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine

But I'll love them endlessly

**[Zayn + Liam]**

I won't let these little things

Slip out of my mouth

But if I do

It's you

Oh it's you

They add up to

I'm in love with you

And all these little things

**[Louis]**

You can't go to bed without a cup of tea

And maybe that's the reason that you talk in your sleep

And all those conversations are the secrets that I keep

Though it makes no sense to me

**[Harry]**

I know you've never loved the sound of your voice on tape

You never want to know how much you weigh

You still have to squeeze into your jeans

But you're perfect to me

**[Harry + Niall]**

I won't let these little things

Slip out of my mouth

But if it's true

It's you

It's you

They add up to

I'm in love with you

And all these little things

**[Niall]**

You'll never love yourself half as much as I love you

And you'll never treat yourself right, darling, but I want you to

If I let you know I'm here for you

Maybe you'll love yourself like I love you, oh

**[Harry]**

I've just let these little things

Slip out of my mouth

'Cause it's you

Oh it's you

It's you they add up to

And I'm in love with you

And all these little things

**[All]**

I won't let these little things

Slip out of my mouth

But if it's true

It's you

It's you

They add up to

I'm in love with you

And all your little things

## Music Video

 **Length**
 **Director**
 **Location**

### Background

The music video for "Little Things" was shot entirely in black-and-white and directed by Vaughan Arnell, who had previously directed the band's music video for their previous single "Live While We're Young". Tomlinson disclosed via social networking website Twitter that an accompanying music video for "Little Things" was in production on 15 October 2012. Band member Zayn Malik confirmed that they had finished filming the video the following day.

### Release

On each of the five days preceding the video's premiere, One Direction posted a teaser trailer of the video online. Each teaser showed footage from the video and behind the scenes, and one member of the band announcing how many days were left until the video premiere. The official video was uploaded to their Vevo account on YouTube on 2 November 2012.

### Synopsis

The music video consists of a simplistic concept — a One Direction recording session. In a November 2012 interview with MTV News, Arnell said he did not want to make it about anything more than that, "When I first heard the track, the mix on it was so simple and so pure and you could hear all the qualities of the voices on the track, I just wanted to come up with something that when the viewer watched it, it was almost like sitting there listening to the boys sing the track." Arnell wanted to make the music video as "uncontrived as possible" without "any other bullsh-- or effects in the way of it."

The shoot took over twelve hours to complete and said that it was "one of the hardest things I've ever done." The group performed it "over and over again because I was just trying to get different shots, different angles, different qualities." As for the decision to shoot the video in black-and-white, Arnell felt it best captured the essence of the ballad. He also noted that was his intention to give the music video the feeling as if One Direction are singing it right to you, "It's purely about the clarity of it. When you sit there watching it, it's almost like these little bits of eye contact [and] you really feel like the guys are singing it to you."

## Credits

* Ed Sheeran — writing
* Fiona Bevan — writing
* Jake Gosling — production
* Chris Leonard — guitars
* Tommy Culm — backing vocals

## References

1. ↑ ed sheeran to produce one direction tracks
2. ↑ One Direction new single contains my favourite lyrics, says Ed Sheeran
3. ↑ One Direction confirm new single 'Little Things'