Donald Trump Recites Al Wilson Song ‘The Snake’ At New York Rally

When it comes to political rallies, most political candidates might opt to woo their supporters with dramatic quotes from the Founding Fathers or with a favorite passage from the Bible. Then again, Donald Trump is not like most political candidates. Indeed, the GOP frontrunner has recently taken to reciting Al Wilson’s 1968 hit song “The Snake” at his campaign events, using the lesson of the song as something of a cautionary tale regarding those who are fleeing the civil war in Syria.

At his rally in Bethpage, New York, on Wednesday night, the billionaire candidate joined his supporters in chanting “Lyin’ Ted,” a reference to his GOP rival Ted Cruz. As noted by CNN, Cruz soundly defeated Trump in the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday night. Then, reading from a small cache of papers, Donald Trump read the words from Al Wilson’s song “The Snake” aloud. The Guardian‘s coverage of the event included a full transcription of the lyrics.

The song begins with a scene in which a woman rescues a snake from certain death.

“On her way to work one morning,
Down the path alongside the lake,
A tender-hearted woman saw a poor, half-frozen snake.”

She takes the snake into her home and nurtures it back to health, but the snake turns on her, rewarding her kindness with a venomous bite. The snake chides the woman for her naïveté as she suffers the consequences of her good nature.

“And you’ve bit me even – why?
You know your bite is poisonous and now I’m going to 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!”

“The Snake” was one of Al Wilson’s biggest hits in the United States, as recounted in a retrospective piece by the Independent. The singer passed away in 2008.

As previously reported by ABC News, Donald Trump previously quoted “The Snake” back in January at an event in Cedar Falls, Iowa. In accompanying remarks, Trump suggested that many male refugees from the civil war in Syria were likely terrorists, citing his personal observations as evidence of the claim.

“I don’t think you wanna have, people coming in from the migration from Syria, and when you look at that migration, it’s very unusual. When I look at it, I see so many men, and they’re young. They look like they should be on the wrestling team,” Trump said during his comments in January. “And they’re young and they’re strong, and you don’t see that many women.”

Donald Trump has publicly stated that if he is elected president, he will require Syrian refugees admitted to the United States by the Obama Administration to return to the war-torn country. During a Fox News interview in October, he speculated that men fleeing the conflict could be conspiring to form a large invasion force.

The Republican frontrunner’s use of popular songs at his rallies has invited controversy a number of times during his campaign. Most recently, rapper Everlast said he would serve Donald Trump with a cease and desist order for the Trump campaign’s repeated use of his 1992 hit “Jump Around.”

Donald Trump is expected to campaign extensively in his home state of New York in hopes that he will win the April 19 primary there.

[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]