The Snake (song)

"The Snake"
Single by Al Wilson
B-side"Getting Ready for Tomorrow" (1968 release)
"Willoughby Brook" (1975 UK release)
ReleasedAugust 1968 (U.S.)
August 8, 1975 (U.K.)
Genre
Length3:27
LabelSoul City (1968 release)
Bell (1975 UK release)
Songwriter(s)Oscar Brown
Producer(s)
Al Wilson singles chronology
"Do What You Gotta Do"
(1967)
"The Snake"
(1968)
"Poor Side of Town"
(1968)

"The Snake" is a song written and first recorded by civil-rights activist Oscar Brown in 1963; it became a hit single for American singer Al Wilson in 1968. The song tells a story similar to Aesop's fable The Farmer and the Viper and the African American folktale "Mr. Snake and the Farmer".

The song gained renewed attention during the campaign for the 2016 United States presidential election.