Cover art for Charm the Snake by Christopher Cross
Nov. 19851 viewer

Charm the Snake Lyrics

You gotta be smart
You gotta be cool
You gotta keep a straight face
When you're playin' the fool
You gotta wear a smile
When you're breakin' the rules
You gotta charm that snake now, baby

You gotta be smooth
You gotta be quick
I think it might just help
To be a little bit sick
You know the bite can't cut you
If the skin is thick
Charm that snake now, baby

Hey, we ain't all good lookin'
There ain't no reason
To take a good lickin'
The clock on the wall
Gonna keep on tickin'
Charm that snake now, baby
Charm that snake now, baby

Whoa, oh, oh
Don't let go of it
Don't let go
Whoa, oh, oh
Gotta charm that snake
Charm that snake
One stripe, two stripes
What does it mean
The venom is lethal
But the meat is clean
The best take advantage
Of you like a machine
You gotta charm that snake now, maybe

Don't let the fingernails
Under the heart
If they get a good grip
They're gonna rip it apart
The first and last kisses
Are the dangerous part
You gotta charm that snake now, baby
Charm that snake now, baby

Whoa, oh, oh
Don't let go of it
Don't let go
Whoa, oh, oh
You gotta charm that snake
Charm that snake

There's a hook in the bait
The first one made a mistake
If you've got what it takes
You better charm that snake
You gotta let it show
You ain't gonna let it go
I'm gonna let 'em know
Never gonna let it go

Uh-huh
Well, all right
Let's get it right

(You gotta charm it, oh yeah)
Oh, yeah
(You gotta charm it)
You gotta charm that snake
(You gotta charm it, oh yeah)

Whoa, gotta charm that snake now, baby
Whoa, gotta charm that snake now, baby
Charm that snake

Whoa, you gotta charm that snake now, baby
Whoa, you gotta charm that snake now, baby
Charm that snake

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Have the inside scoop on this song?
Sign up and drop some knowledge
Credits
Release Date
November 1985
Tags
Comments