Cod'ine

The lyrics are a personalized portrayal of addiction; the spelling reflects her pronunciation of the word, which rhymes with "rise" and "time" in the song's verses.

[1] AllMusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes her lyrics as "accurately reflecting the horror of opiate addiction, the stark, barren imagery of the lyrics are positively frightening":[2] And my belly is craving, I got shakin' in my head Feel like I'm dyin' and I wish I was dead If I live 'til tomorrow it'll be a long time For I'll reel and I'll fall and rise on cod'ine Sainte-Marie's vocal delivery reflects "the wildness of her vulnerability and her broken howls are chilling ... the aftershocks of her vibrato almost swallowing words whole as she bellows, 'An' it's real, one more time'", as described by Warner.

[5] For "Cod'ine" he wrote: The foreknowledge of death and the recapitulation of the life which made that death inevitable; a tale of drug addiction told within the mind but in the voice of the ancient (or prematurely aged) addict desperately seeking some justification for her existence; the pathetic repetition that she has avoided the additional sin of alcohol, thus keeping faith with the creed of her parents; a characterization so extraordinary and many-levelled that all consciousness of its having been "created" is lost; a macabre waltz which tetters on the edge of the grave.

[1] John Kay, singer, guitarist and songwriter for the popular 1960s rock group Steppenwolf, recalled purchasing the album after hearing her live for the first time.

[9] Author Michael C. Keith includes "Cod'ine", along with "Signed D.C." written by Arthur Lee (1966, Love), "Amphetamine Annie" by Canned Heat (1968), "The Pusher" by Hoyt Axton (1968, Steppenwolf), as examples of songs from the 1960s that explore a similar theme.

[10] Although Sainte-Marie had kicked the habit, she feels that the song led some to perceive her as an addict: "In my first couple of records, whoever was choosing the takes wanted me to sound like I was kind of old and dying.

[2][a] Greenwald described it as "a true progressive folk music classic ... a dark, minor-key folk-blues with a fabulously simple descending guitar riff".

"[7] Later, the original studio recording and a live rendition from 1968 were included on the 1999 compilation Unreleased Quicksilver Messenger Service – Lost Gold and Silver.

[7] In the album liner notes, Unterberger commented: "[The group] adopt a nastier, punkier edge than many would have believed possible given their reputation as a hippie outfit.

"[17] Alternative rock group Hole recorded a vocal with acoustic guitar version, which is included as bonus track on their Japanese album release of Nobody's Daughter (2010).