Cool song. I always thought it was referring to a biblical punishment for our sins, because of the biblical references - the snake representing sin and the big wave is the great flood that God sent to wipe out a mankind which he viewed as too wicked and sinful.
But then I started to think that it's about our inability to escape or postpone our own suffering because they'll catch up with us in one go (ie the 'big wave'). If you borrow money to pay the bills (verse 1), you're only going to end up in more debt that needs to be paid one day. The sleeplessness or anxiety you suffer (verse 2) can't be resolved with a few pills because the root cause will come back to bite you, and may do so in more harmful ways (sleepwalking into the river) than if you didn't try to sidestep it. Sleeping around to escape relationship problems (verse 3) only causes more relationship problems to deal with. I didn't read that the snake at any point represents some guy's junk (the snake he visits me?). Normally it represents temptation into sin, but if it makes you think of a guy's junk, you go for it!
But, as with many songs, we're not limited to one interpretation and Jenny may well have mixed a few different threads to make her story.
Cool song. I always thought it was referring to a biblical punishment for our sins, because of the biblical references - the snake representing sin and the big wave is the great flood that God sent to wipe out a mankind which he viewed as too wicked and sinful.
But then I started to think that it's about our inability to escape or postpone our own suffering because they'll catch up with us in one go (ie the 'big wave'). If you borrow money to pay the bills (verse 1), you're only going to end up in more debt that needs to be paid one day. The sleeplessness or anxiety you suffer (verse 2) can't be resolved with a few pills because the root cause will come back to bite you, and may do so in more harmful ways (sleepwalking into the river) than if you didn't try to sidestep it. Sleeping around to escape relationship problems (verse 3) only causes more relationship problems to deal with. I didn't read that the snake at any point represents some guy's junk (the snake he visits me?). Normally it represents temptation into sin, but if it makes you think of a guy's junk, you go for it!
But, as with many songs, we're not limited to one interpretation and Jenny may well have mixed a few different threads to make her story.