On her way to work one morning
Down the path ‘longside the lake
A tender-hearted woman saw a poor half-frozen snake
His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew
“Oh well,” she cried, “I’ll take you in and I’ll take care of you”
“Take me in, tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in, tender woman,” sighed the snake
She wrapped him up all cozy in a comforter of silk
And laid him by thе fireside with some honеy and some milk
She hurried home from work that night, and soon as she arrived
She found that pretty snake she’d taken in had been revived
“Take me in, tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in, tender woman,” sighed the snake
She clutched him to her bosom, “You’re so beautiful,” she cried
“But if I hadn’t brought you in, by now you might have died”
She stroked his pretty skin again and kissed and held him tight
Instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite
“Take me in, tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in, tender woman,” sighed the snake
“I saved you,” cried the woman
“And you’ve bitten me, but why?
And you know your bite is poisonous and now I’m gonna die”
“Oh shut up, silly woman,” said the reptile with a grin
“You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in”
“Take me in, tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in, tender woman,” sighed the snake
“Take me in, tender woman,” sighed the snake
“Take me in, tender woman,” sighed the snake
*****
Donald Trump has repeatedly read this poem in his political rallies as a way of attacking immigrants and the US Government’s immigration policies. The ironies are endless:
– that two of Trump’s wives are themselves immigrants (the current one having a very sketchy background as a “model”);
– that Trump always fails to credit Oscar Brown Jr as the song’s author, consistently naming Al Wilson instead;
– that Oscar Brown was a civil rights activist and for ten years a member of the Communist Party (he left when he decided he was “too black to be red”);
– that the song’s message, a variant on one of Aesop’s Fables, is that kindness can be betrayed;
– that Oscar Brown’s daughters have sent Trump cease-and-desist letters because Trump’s message is antithetical to all their father stood for;
– and as one of the daughters said on CNN, “the elephant in the room is that Trump is the living embodiment of the snake that my father wrote about in that song.“
Photo: “JAZZ: Portrait of Oscar Brown, Jr.” by Professor Bop is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. (Note: the portrait is by Edwin German.)
Form in Formless Times 
Fine song lyrics (and commentary) and reminds me of Aesop’s fable about the scorpion and the frog.
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Indeed, that’s the fable it’s based on.
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Seriously – YOU call the Red party the communist party…. and have only bad things to say about a POTUS who fights for the American people like none other.
YOU are ignorant on so many fronts and have a very misinformed perspective and
YOU should be ashamed of yourselves….
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How pleasant to hear from Anonymous, who I believe wrote some of the most memorable poems around.
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Thank you for this information! I’ve known the poem/song for forever, but never knew the history. And I was unaware of the T***p connection.
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Trump’s connections to things are always bizarre, irritating, or both.
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I can see you are enjoying his 2nd term….
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his wives were LEGAL immigrants doufus thats the difference
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Feel free to identify yourself, Anonymous.
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Melania was not legal when they married. Easily searchable — do your homework.
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Trump dances to Lbgtq anthems and then attacks that community. Quotes civil right poems and abolishes the laws that gave them equal footing. Calling him a snake is complementary compared to what he really is.
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LMAO, TDS is strong with this one.
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Never trust a snake not to bite you. Never trust a scorpion not to sting you. And never ever trust a democrat. -Adam
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why would you say something like that? Be a part of the solution….not the problem.
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True, Trump identifies with the snake which bite the old women. He reads it aloud so anyone listening understands well what is position is with regard to humans.
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