Rattlesnakes:
She rides rollercoasters but never screams
The "Rattlesnakes" Tori has straight blonde hair and a KISS jacket.
The song features a main character named Jodie, who "wears a hat although it hasn't rained for six days" and packs a gun "on account of all the rattlesnakes."
Cole is himself an empathetic writer, and so his character sketch of Jodie offers telling details ("her neverborn child still haunts her") that explain her behavior.
Ever perceptive, Amos picks up on Jodie's heartbreak; her voice drips with sadness and understanding, ensuring the cover ends up deeply affecting.
Jodie wears a hat although it hasn't rained for six daysShe says a girl needs a gun these daysHey on account of all the rattlesnakes
She looks like Eve Marie saint in on the waterfrontShe reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance
She's less than sure if her heart has come to stay in San JoseAnd her never-born child still haunts herAs she speeds down the freewayAs she tries her luck with the traffic policeOut of boredom more than spiteShe never finds no trouble, she tries too hardShe's obvious despite herself
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in on the waterfrontShe says all she needs is therapy, yeahAll you need is, love is all you need
Jodie never sleeps 'cause there are always needles in the hayShe says that a girl needs a gun these daysHey on account of all the rattlesnakes
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in on the waterfrontAs she reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstanceHer heart, heart's like crazy pavingUpside down and back to frontShe says "ooh, it's so hard to loveWhen love was your great disappointment."
Cole took the main character from Didion's 1977 novel A Book of Common Prayer and "inserted her into the landscape" of the 1970 novel Play It as It Lays.
