Reference to:
The Snake Pit
An autobiographical novel by Mary Jane Ward
1946, Random House
A novel based on the author's own experiences in asylums
The Snake Pit, the novel
p217
Long ago they lowered insane persons into snake pits; they thought that an experience that might drive a sane person out of his wits might send an insane person back into sanity... They had thrown her into a snake pit and she had been shocked into knowing that she would get well.
Throughout the novel Virginia complains of loss of memory, possibly through the use of electroconvulsive therapy (shock treatment).
The asylum in which the young woman is detained is the modern equivalent. Gives extra meaning to the song.
Robert Smith has said that he went through a period of reading various works on mental illness. This was one of the most influential novels on the subject.
The Snake Pit, the song
Well we're a mile under the ground
And I'm thinking that it's Christmas
And I'm kissing you hard
Like I've got very important business
And no-one knows
And no-one sees us
Because they're drinking theirselves senseless
And I'm writhing
And I'm writhing
And I'm writhing in the snakepit
Well I'm out in a car
And it's just full of stupid girls
And I've forgotten how to speak
And I just can't remember a word
And my eyes feel like they're bursting
And they're splitting like plums
And I'm writhing
And I'm writhing
And I'm writhing in the snake pit
Songwriters: Boris Williams / Laurence Andrew Tolhurst / Porl Thompson / Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup
The Snake Pit lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group