Song Meaning

The narrator fixates on the imagined communication of snakes, contrasting their presumed silent, inscrutable existence with the narrator's own conversational, and perhaps troubled, relationship. The repeated phrase "I'm sure, I'm sure, I'm sure, I'm sure" underscores a desperate need for certainty about something fundamentally unknowable, highlighting a deep-seated anxiety about connection or the lack thereof. The core tension lies in the narrator's projection onto these creatures. They wonder if snakes have their own language, their own social cues – "hello or go away?" – mirroring the complexities and ambiguities of human interaction. This isn't just idle curiosity; it feels like an attempt to find a simpler, more direct form of communication than what they experience. The lyrics playfully twist animal sounds into potential snake language, from "moo" and "bow wow" to "squawk" and "meows." This absurdity is the point: the narrator is so focused on the *idea* of snake communication that they invent nonsensical possibilities. The repetition of "What do snakes talk about?" acts as a refrain, a constant return to this central, unanswerable question. Ultimately, the effectiveness comes from this earnest, almost childlike, yet deeply melancholic, inquiry. The narrator's inability to grasp the inner lives of snakes mirrors a potential struggle to understand or connect with others, making the simple question about animal sounds resonate with a profound sense of isolation.