Almost Hits: Al Wilson - The Snake (1968)
The great sixties vocalist, Johnny Rivers, produced the record and released it
on his own Soul City label.
Wilson - who reminds me of Lou Rawls - is better known for "Show and
Tell," his #1 hit from 1973. Overall, he sent four singles into the top forty.
The song's storyline is very similar to one of Aesop's ancient fables,
The Farmer and The Viper. This fable tells us that even if you're kind to someone who is inherently
evil they will eventually stab you in the back, and that's exactly what
happens in the song. It tells the tale of a woman who takes in a half frozen
snake and nurses him back to health. Sadly, instead of being grateful he
attacks her with a fatal bite.
Coincidentally, I'm writing this article at an appropriate time, because as it
turns out, "The Snake" has played a part in recent presidential elections. I swear that I
didn't know there is a political connection associated with this formerly nearly
forgotten record until I started researching it for this blog post.
Almost Hits is an occasional exploration into songs that failed to
reach the top 20 on the American Billboard Hot 100. Many have become
classics despite what their chart position would indicate.
"The Snake" was revived by presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016
during his run against Hillary Clinton. The eventual 45th president warned
voters at his rallies that granting refugee status to immigrants entering
the country illegally
"would come back to bite us." He recited the song's lyrics at several rallies and two of composer Oscar Brown's children
asked him to stop using it. A cease and desist order was ignored. After
the former president left office he continued to use the lyrics at his
rallies. Earlier this year, Trump told a crowd the song is "a very accurate metaphor, and it's about our border, it's about
the people we have coming in, and don't be surprised when bad things
happen, because bad things will happen."
"The Snake" is a very good oldie that you can dance to. It deserves to
be listened to on its own merits unencumbered by the current political
controvery that is now attached to it.
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