Black Snake Moan

This song was originally recorded as "Black Snake Blues" by Vistoria Spivey in 1926 on Okeh records. In 1927, Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded the same song as "Black Snake Moan," also on Okeh. His version sold much better than Spivey's, and therefore his recording is more widely known to this day.

This Blues song provided the name for the Hollywood film Black Snake Moan starring Samuel L. Jackson, who performs the song in a key scene where he plays it to Christina Ricci. As explained in the bonus features on the DVD, the "Black Snake Moan" represents personal demons - the "voice that won't go away." For Jefferson, it was his blindness. In the movie, Jackson is tormented because his wife aborted their child and subsequently left him. Ricci's character is still dealing with abuse she suffered as a child.