Although they share musical similarities with members' previous outfits, Hot Snakes have a sound that is much more primal than that of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu or even Rocket from the Crypt. Reis and Froberg were also heavily influenced by bands such as The Wipers, Suicide, and Michael Yonkers Band, and these influences gave Hot Snakes a distinctive sound that has been described by one critic as "hardcore garage punk." The band's recordings and merchandise were conducted in a DIY manner, with Froberg providing all of the artwork and Reis releasing the material via his Swami Records label.
Eric Gerald Froberg died in San Diego on June 30, 2023, at the age of 55, from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Who Died
Hot Snakes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I tried prayer
Ex boyfriends, relatives and neighbors
Say you aren't there
Tried the priest
I tried the maid
They tried to reach you
But you're in the grave
My friends all wanna know
Who dies?
Yeah they all ask me
Who died?
Your phone is dead
You ain't home
You ain't alive
It was you
You, you're the one who died
The Catholics confirm
What the Protestants knew
They thought it was them
They were glad it was you
Died like a princess
Lived like a slave
They tried to reach you
But you're in the grave
In Hot Snakes’s song Who Died, the band uses simple and straightforward lyrics to convey the complexities of loss, grief, and death. The song talks about a person who is missing and presumed dead with no possible means of communication. The singer of the song has tried all the possible ways to reach the person, including seances, prayers, and conversations with ex-boyfriends, relatives, or neighbors, but to no avail. The person is out of reach and beyond their grasp, as they are buried in the grave.
The use of the word "seance" in the beginning of the lyric creates an eerie theme, suggesting that the singer is trying to contact the dead, and the sombre music plays along perfectly. As the song progresses, it becomes clear that mourning and heartbreak surround the singer. The chorus repeats the question "Who died?" indicating the search for the truth about the loss of the person. The verse "Died like a princess, Lived like a slave" is indicative of the fact that the person suffered a lot in their lifetime, and even after death, they are beyond the reach of anyone who wanted to help them.
The verses of the song also hint at the difficulties of dealing with grief by showing how the singer had a hard time accepting that the person had died. The lines "They thought it was them, They were glad it was you" suggest that others felt relieved that the singer's grief was from the loss of someone else, not themselves. The song has a mysterious theme to it, but the lyrics guide the listener to the apparent conclusion that they are not coming back.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm at a seance
I'm trying to communicate with the dead through a medium
I tried prayer
I attempted to reach out to a higher power through religious ritual
Ex boyfriends, relatives and neighbors
People who knew you before are trying to connect with you from beyond the grave
Say you aren't there
They have failed to reach you, or to confirm that you are still alive
Tried the priest
I sought assistance from a spiritual leader
I tried the maid
I relied on servants to aid me in my search
They tried to reach you
Others have attempted to contact you in a variety of ways
But you're in the grave
But you are dead and cannot be communicated with through traditional means
My friends all wanna know
The people in my life are desperate for answers
Who dies?
Who has passed away?
Yeah they all ask me
Everyone is coming to me for answers
Your phone is dead
You are unable to communicate with us through modern technology
You ain't home
You are not physically present
You ain't alive
You are, in fact, deceased
It was you
You are the person who has passed away
You, you're the one who died
It is impossible to deny that you, in fact, have died
The Catholics confirm
The members of one religion reaffirm the belief in your death
What the Protestants knew
Their counterparts from another religion also know that you are no longer with us
They thought it was them
Others believed that they may have been responsible for your death
They were glad it was you
There may be some who were pleased to learn that they were not responsible for your passing
Died like a princess
Your death was notable and reminiscent of that of a public figure
Lived like a slave
Despite this public face, your true existence was one of hardship and struggle
They tried to reach you
Others have attempted to contact you in a variety of ways
But you're in the grave
But you are dead and cannot be communicated with through traditional means
Contributed by Violet L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Josh Poe
Where's everyone at?
Clay Stablein
We be everywhere doing our thang. Where you be at?
projeckt2501
@Dave Anchovies projeckt2501 is dead, undead, undead, undead...
projeckt2501
They are all dead.