Phil Keaggy

Riley The Rattler

Phil Keaggy


Yeah, baby 

I'm Riley the Rattler, but who really cares 
Stuck in the desert eating toads and hares 
Enduring the dryness and all that heat 
Crawling over rocks until I'm beat 
Spending the nights just trying to be cool 
I'm rejected in love, man, I feel like a fool 

I'm telling you it's tough to wear these scales 
Have two buck teeth and rattles on your tail 
Nobody likes me - even the other snakes hide 
While I slither around and rattle my pride 

The only thing going for me are my ferocious eyes 
I can stare down a mouse until it cries 
So what's the big deal? It takes a mouse a day 
Just to keep the doctor away 

The days are sweltering and the nights are cold 
The hunters are merciless, the coyote's too bold 
I haven't bitten a good human in weeks 
All that show up are a bunch of geeks 

They stole my name and put it on a stadium 
They stole my rattle and named it Palladium 
They swiped my scales and fashioned a purse 
How would you feel with that wretched curse? 

You know the whole thing about this whole affair 
Is that I have to go through life without any hair 
I have a tongue so long it gets caught in the weeds 
When it gets too sore I can't chew seeds 

I suppose you think squirting venom in an artform 
I'll let you in on a secret, bud, it just gives me heartburn 
The weekends are the worst with the trail-ridin' honkies 
Tearing up the earth with their horses and donkeys 

There once was a time when I could lay on a rock 
Take in the sun without watching the clock 
Now all I do is hide in some hole 
And breathe in the gas fumes and look for a mole 

It's a disgusting life for the chief of all snakes 
I don't get no respect from all those flakes 
In years gone by I was king of the road 
Just one coil would scare the warts off a toad 

Guess there's no sense in complaining about things as they are 
I'm just lucky I haven't been hit by a car 
Just thinking of traffic can give me a chill 
One false move and I'll end up road kill 

A guy on TV gets 4 mill for being a Diamondback 
If I get caught I'm stuffed in a sack 
Thrown in a trunk with smelly cactus 
And later dumped out to become target practice 

I'm Riley the Rattler, but who gives a hoot 
They spend hours looking for me, just to shoot 
I'd give my left rattle to trap one gun 
And bite him a good one right on the bun 

I'm Riley the Rattler and I'm bad to the core 
I gotta change my look, you know, like Al Gore 

Say baby, let's slither up the knoll 
Coil around a toadstool and shake, rattle, and roll 

Yeah baby....