Dunk you under
Deep salt water
Bring me, lover
All your power
I'll be no hell
Out of your spell
Over, under
Die of pleasure
In my dreamin'
You'll be drownin'
Hell's low, God above
All drunk on my love
You outta hear my long snake moan
You outta see me from my throne
Dunk you under
Deep salt water
In my dreamin'
You'll be drownin'
Raise me up, Lord
Call me "Lazarus"
Hey Lord, help me
Make ready my veil
You outta hear my long snake moan
You outta see me from my throne
It's my voodoo workin'..
Moan!
The snake is a very familiar image with various interpretations and meanings. Some people use it to signify evil.. others consider it a symbol of rejuvenation. This is probably one of the primary reasons it was chosen for this song. The image of the snake is something that really hits us on an unconscious level. The way it hisses and slithers is generally unsettling (or at least, intriguing) to almost everyone, and this is consistent with the unsettling, voodoo-like sound effects used in the song.
At its core, Long Snake Moan uses the snake as a symbol for transcendence, especially with respect to the concepts of religion, "right" vs. "wrong", life vs. death, and traditional gender roles. In a 1995 interview, PJ Harvey said:
"I look towards religion as possibly one means to finding an answer, to making sense why we’re here. That’s what drives the creative force, to make sense of one’s life. A very natural place to look is in that divine area, because it’s so strong and has been here long before us."
Although not a religious person herself, PJ understands the importance of religion in its pure, non-corrupted form where both 'God' and 'Satan' become part of the same abstraction. In other words, God and Satan are essentially the same thing on a certain level: they both represent something that transcends the boundary between the physical and the spiritual. They interact with the physical realm, but they aren't restricted to it.
The narrator in the song is identifying herself with this concept. This is why she says "Call me Lazarus", because Lazarus transcended the boundary between life and death after he was resurrected by Jesus. This is also noted in other lines throughout (e.g. "Over, under" and "Hell's low, God above"). She also includes the religious ideas of baptism ("dunk you under deep salt water") and obligation/fidelity to God ("make ready my veil").
Thinking about this from a more human/female perspective, the term "Long Snake Moan" seems to be a reference to both 1) the narrator's libido, and 2) her declaration of independence from a controlling relationship (that's where "Out of your spell" comes from). She has transcended gender by taking on the dominant sexual role in the relationship (a role usually played by the male). This role-reversal is accomplished through her "voodoo", where she summons the power of higher transcendental beings (like God and Satan). In this way, she resembles the snake and takes on its symbolic characteristics.
What is particularly beautiful about this song, imo, is that PJ incorporates the religious idea of transcendence into her own broader abstraction, where the transcendence of morality (right vs. wrong), mortality (life vs death), and gender (male vs. female) are all weaved together to form an extremely rich artistic expression.
This is what I hear..
Dunk you under Deep salt water Bring me, lover All your power
I'll be no hell Out of your spell Over, under Die of pleasure
In my dreamin' You'll be drownin' Hell's low, God above All drunk on my love
You outta hear my long snake moan You outta see me from my throne
Dunk you under Deep salt water In my dreamin' You'll be drownin'
Raise me up, Lord Call me "Lazarus" Hey Lord, help me Make ready my veil
You outta hear my long snake moan You outta see me from my throne
It's my voodoo workin'..
Moan!
The snake is a very familiar image with various interpretations and meanings. Some people use it to signify evil.. others consider it a symbol of rejuvenation. This is probably one of the primary reasons it was chosen for this song. The image of the snake is something that really hits us on an unconscious level. The way it hisses and slithers is generally unsettling (or at least, intriguing) to almost everyone, and this is consistent with the unsettling, voodoo-like sound effects used in the song.
At its core, Long Snake Moan uses the snake as a symbol for transcendence, especially with respect to the concepts of religion, "right" vs. "wrong", life vs. death, and traditional gender roles. In a 1995 interview, PJ Harvey said:
"I look towards religion as possibly one means to finding an answer, to making sense why we’re here. That’s what drives the creative force, to make sense of one’s life. A very natural place to look is in that divine area, because it’s so strong and has been here long before us."
Although not a religious person herself, PJ understands the importance of religion in its pure, non-corrupted form where both 'God' and 'Satan' become part of the same abstraction. In other words, God and Satan are essentially the same thing on a certain level: they both represent something that transcends the boundary between the physical and the spiritual. They interact with the physical realm, but they aren't restricted to it.
The narrator in the song is identifying herself with this concept. This is why she says "Call me Lazarus", because Lazarus transcended the boundary between life and death after he was resurrected by Jesus. This is also noted in other lines throughout (e.g. "Over, under" and "Hell's low, God above"). She also includes the religious ideas of baptism ("dunk you under deep salt water") and obligation/fidelity to God ("make ready my veil").
Thinking about this from a more human/female perspective, the term "Long Snake Moan" seems to be a reference to both 1) the narrator's libido, and 2) her declaration of independence from a controlling relationship (that's where "Out of your spell" comes from). She has transcended gender by taking on the dominant sexual role in the relationship (a role usually played by the male). This role-reversal is accomplished through her "voodoo", where she summons the power of higher transcendental beings (like God and Satan). In this way, she resembles the snake and takes on its symbolic characteristics.
What is particularly beautiful about this song, imo, is that PJ incorporates the religious idea of transcendence into her own broader abstraction, where the transcendence of morality (right vs. wrong), mortality (life vs death), and gender (male vs. female) are all weaved together to form an extremely rich artistic expression.