THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

446-Al Wilson-The Snake.

1968-It did not chart until reissued in 1975, when reaching Number 41.

Best Bit-At 2.37. The song which helped elect an American President.

The Snake was originally written and performed by Oscar Brown Jr (1926-2005) in 1963, he also recorded the first version. In 1966 the American singer/songwriter Johnny Rivers released a version, but the song didn’t become a hit until covered by Al Wilson in 1968, when peaking at Number 27 on Billboard, his version was produced by Rivers on ‘Soul City Records,’ the record label owned by Rivers. In the UK the track has become a cult classic among fans of Northern Soul Music,being one of the most popular songs of that genre.

The songs lyrics are inspired by Aesop’s Fable of The Farmer And The Viper.It tells of a kind woman who finds a frozen snake and nurses it back to health.The snake repays her by biting her with deadly poisonous venom,when she asks why, the snake tells her that she knew he was a snake before she took him in.

During the 2016 United States Presidential election campaign Republican candidate Donald Trump read out the lyrics at several campaign rallies to illustrate his position on the Syrian refugee crisis,claiming that the decision to allow people claiming refugee status to enter the U.S.would ‘Come back to bite us,’as happened to the woman who took in the snake in the song.The daughters of the late songwriter Oscar Brown Jr have asked Trump to stop using their fathers song saying ‘He’s perversely using The Snake to demonise immigrants’ and that Brown ‘Never had anything against immigrants.’

Al Wilson was born Allen LaMar Wilson on June 19th, 1939, in Meridian, Mississippi, United States, he died on April 21st, 2008 from kidney failure. Wilson recorded five studio Albums between 1968-1979, and released 22 singles, four of which made the Billboard top 40. His major success occurred in 1973 when his version of the Jerry Fuller song ‘Show and Tell’ reached Number 1 in America. In the UK he is best remembered for this song which is a staple of over 30 Northern Soul various artists compilations, and in a survey of the most popular Northern Soul songs of all time it came in at Number 4 (see also best songs 97.)

‘Oh shut up silly woman said the reptile with a grin, now you knew darn well I was a snake before you brought me in.’