Porter Wagoner

Artist: Porter Wagoner

LP: Soul of a Convict and Other Great Prison Songs

Song: "The Snakes Crawl At Night"

[ listen ]

We've all heard the rumors that "the snakes crawl at night" amongst the libidinous all-male populations of America's prison system, that "when the sun goes down, the snakes will play," but I was surprised to find out someone had actually written a song about it. This 1967 Porter Wagoner record that includes this and other prison songs was something I found at the Goodwill Thrift Store in Colville, WA on my way back to Seattle. I pulled into town at around 9am, so figured I'd visit a locally-owned cafe or diner downtown to get some coffee and food. After finding no such place, I asked the friendly thrift store cashier where I could find a good breakfast diner in Colville. She excitedly informed me that the best and most affordable breakfast in town was at Arby's. Go here if you'd like to see more pictures from my trip.

Born in West Plains, Missouri in August of 1927, Porter Wagoner had a long and successful career in country music, which included singing lots of duets with Dolly Parton. If Porter hadn't passed away a few years ago, he'd be celebrating his 83rd birthday tomorrow! You can read all about the life and career of Porter Wagoner here, see his New York Times obituary here and find the liner notes for his "Soul of a Convict and Other Great Prison Songs" LP below, along with a photo of Porter doing time in jail. All I know is, if those guys were my cell mates, there would definitely be a few friendly words, some music mixed with understanding... and when the sun went down the snakes would play.

[ Porter Wagoner: August 12, 1927 — October 28, 2007 ]