A Snake in the Grass

"A Snake in the Grass" is a musical number performed in the 1974 musical adaptation of The Little Prince. In it, the Snake - portrayed by noted dancer/actor Bob Fosse - convinces a yearning Prince (Steven Warner) to allow himself to be bitten, ostensibly to send the Prince home in space.

Lyrics
If you would like to cure the fever called life

Get some relief from all the struggle and strife

The grandest medicine that I can propose, is under your nose

A snake in the grass

If you would like a spot where life never goes

 Where you can leave your body home in your clothes

''The finest travel agent you’ll ever meet, is right at your feet A snake in the grass''

One sting

 And you can say goodbye to all of your friends

 One sting

 And you’ll be singing as your spirit ascends

 Alls well that ends

So any day or night, wherever you are

 If you would like to take a trip to a star

The quickest transportation yet known to man, is none other than

 A snake in the grass

 A snake in the grass

 A snake in the grass

If you would like to leave that inhuman race

 And take up residence out yonder in space

When you are ready to go traveling on, sit right down upon

 A snake in the grass

One sting

 Is quite enough to make you happy and free

One sting

 And you’ll discover how relaxed you can be

Posthumously

And while you’re wandering through the heavenly blue

 If you should see the Lord come strolling in view

 Go up and say you bring Him best wishes

 From his fallen old chum

 A snake in the grass

 A snake in the grass

 A snake in the grass

One sting

It’s almost painless

A snake in the grass

 A snake in the grass

 A snake in the grass

I’ll be waiting

Trivia

 * The song's title is a play on the idiom "a snake in the grass," which refers to a treacherous person who manipulates others through deceit and false friendship (which is an exact approximation of the Snake's character).
 * Bob Fosse personally choreographed the elaborate dance sequence which occurs during the song.
 * The lyrics "If you should see the Lord come strolling in view/'Go up and say you bring Him best wishes/'From his fallen old chum" seem to imply in some measure the Snake is a representation of Lucifer himself (as a fallen angel, represented here in a way similar to the serpent in the Garden of Eden).