Spiders & Snakes (song)

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"Spiders & Snakes"
Spiders and snakes by jim stafford US single polydor reissue.png
One of side-A labels of the US reissue single
Single by Jim Stafford
from the album Jim Stafford
B-side "Undecided"
ReleasedJanuary 2, 1974
Recorded1973
Genre Swamp rock [1] [2]
Length3:07
Label MGM
Songwriter(s) Jim Stafford, David Bellamy
Producer(s) Phil Gernhard and Lobo
Jim Stafford singles chronology
"Swamp Witch"
(1973)
"Spiders & Snakes"
(1974)
"My Girl Bill"
(1974)
Official audio
"Spiders & Snakes" on YouTube

"Spiders & Snakes" is a 1974 hit song recorded by Jim Stafford and written by Stafford and David Bellamy of The Bellamy Brothers. It was the second of four U.S. Top 40 singles released from his eponymous debut album and also the highest-charting at number three. The lyrics in the verses are spoken, while only the chorus is sung.

Contents

Lyrics

The song begins with the narrator being asked by a girl, Mary Lou, to walk her home from school, which he accepts. She says that she would like to spend some time alone together instead of going right home; the narrator agrees. They go to the swimming hole. While there, the narrator catches a frog on a hollow log. He shakes it at her saying "This frog's for you." Mary Lou informs him that she dislikes spiders and snakes. She adds that his actions are not the way to bring about a romantic response from her. After a while, the narrator phones her to get together again. She says that she'll see him after school. He is nervous this time, thinking of another scheme, when Mary Lou again tells him clearly of her dislike for spiders and snakes, reiterating the same unromantic reasons. (Source: Metro Lyrics)

Commercial performance

"Spiders and Snakes" was a hit in 1974, spending one week at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. [3] In Canada, the song reached number one. [4] The song spent five and a half months on the US charts, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA on March 8, 1974. [5]

Chart performance

Cover versions

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References

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  2. Breihan, Tom (August 30, 2019). "The Number Ones: The Bellamy Brothers' "Let Your Love Flow"". Stereogum . Retrieved June 28, 2023. Stafford and David Bellamy, the younger of the two brothers, co-wrote "Spiders And Snakes," a nasty swamp-rock jam...
  3. 1 2 "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 1974-03-02. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  4. 1 2 "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  5. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.  336. ISBN   0-214-20512-6.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 290. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
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