The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite and laughs at his own inability to pronounce that correctly, which Mike Mills kept trying to get him to do. Stipe says he loved Dr. Seuss as a kid but always pronounced his name the wrong way. The song's complete title is not featured in the lyrics, but there is the line "the sidewinder sleeps in a coil" as well as the later line "the sidewinder sleeps on its back". A sidewinder is a species of rattlesnake ("Crotalus cerastes"), and also an antique style of telephone, with a winding handle on the side. The lyrics frequently refer to making and
Balkan whip snake Balkan whip snake The Balkan whip snake ("Hierophis gemonensis", formerly known as "Coluber gemonensis") is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. It is found in Italy, Cyprus, Greece (including the Greek islands) and most of the Balkan countries (specifically in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia) where its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, pastureland, plantations and rural gardens. It is threatened by habitat loss in parts of its range but overall is assessed by the IUCN as being of "least concern". The Balkan whip snake is a slender snake with smooth