Rattlesnake Lyrics
Follow the power lines back from the road
No one around, so I take off my clothes
Am I the only one in the only world?
[Verse 2]
I see the snake holes dotted in the sand
As if Seurat painted the Rio Grande
Am I the only one in the only world?
[Refrain]
Sweating, sweating, no wind whipping behind me
Sweating, sweating, no one will ever find me
[Verse 3]
The only sound out here is my own breath
And my feet stuttering to make a path
Am I the only one in the only world?
[Verse 4]
Is that the wind finally picking up?
Is that a rattle sounding from the brush?
I'm not the only one in the only world
[Refrain]
Running, running, running, rattle behind me
Running, running, running, no one will find me
Running, running, running, rattle behind me
Running, running, no one will ever find me
About
The song Clark herself calls “a new mythology,” “Rattlesnake” is a new creation story styled around the isolation of a person stripped away of their 21st century dependencies and facing the feral danger of nature for the first time.
The song is based on a real life incident that occurred to Clark somewhere in the dry wilderness of the American Southwest while she was a guest of her friend’s ranch.
According to Clark, she decided to experience the natural surroundings of the desert one night wearing nothing but her boots. While frolicking through the darkened desert, she heard a noise akin to a rattlesnake. Frightened, Clark ran it home. Thus, inspiring the track’s wild and piercing tone. Presumably the narrative also operates as a microcosm of the loneliness and fear relatable to the other varied aspects of life.
St. Vincent has said that the guitar on this track was inspired by the sound of Turkish instrument the saz, and that she sliced her finger in studio while working on the single-string guitar solo at the end of this track.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Upon being asked by electronic beats whether the track contained a symbolic nature to the rest of the album, Clark said:
There was, actually; I thought that it sounded like a nouveau creation myth. The other side is that, because it literally happened to me, all I had to do was be a reporter and relate the facts of what happened when I was in Texas. It already had the form of this myth, so that was a freebie from the universe.
- 1.Rattlesnake
- 4.Huey Newton
- 7.Regret
- 9.Psychopath
- 12.Bad Believer
- 13.Pietà
- 14.Sparrow
- 15.Del Rio