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The Lion and the Cobra is het debuutalbum van de Ierse zangeres Sinéad O'Connor. Het werd op 4 november 1987 uitgebracht op het label Chrysalis Records. O'Connor nam het album op toen ze zwanger was van haar eerste kind.

De titel van het album is afgeleid van Psalm 91:13 uit de Hebreeuwse Bijbel. Het nummer Never Get Old begint met de Ierse zangeres Enya die de Ierse tekst van deze psalm voordraagt.

The Lion and the Cobra is the debut album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, released on 5 October 1987 by Ensign and Chrysalis Records.

O'Connor recorded the album while in the later stages of pregnancy with her first child. The title of the album is from Psalm 91:13 "you will tread upon the lion and cobra", and the track "Never Get Old" opens with an Irish language recital of Psalm 91 by singer Enya.

The photograph of O'Connor on the album cover was taken by ex-Haysi Fantayzee member Kate Garner. The covers of the United States and Canada issues differed from the European release, as it was decided a more subdued pose would present a "softer" image of the star.

The first single, "Troy", peaked at number five in the Netherlands and number 12 in Belgium. It was not a hit in Britain when it was released there in 1987.

The second single, "Mandinka," was a mainstream pop hit in the UK, peaking at number 17 in the singles chart in February 1988, and at number six in her native Ireland.

"I Want Your (Hands on Me)" was featured in the 1988 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. It was used in a prominent character's death sequence, as well as the film's end credits. As the third single from the album in the UK (after "Troy" and "Mandinka"), it peaked at number 77 in May 1988. The single remix includes a rap by MC Lyte, not included on the album version. There are two mixes featuring the rap: the "Dance mix" and the "Street Mix".

The album charted worldwide, reaching number 27 in the United Kingdom and number 36 on the US Billboard 200.

O'Connor was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for her work at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards.

"I'm really proud of them," O’Connor remarked of the album's songs, and her reluctance to perform them, in 2005. "For a little girl to have written some of those songs… I wrote my songs as therapy, if you like. I don't go back to it. I don't want to go there emotionally. I haven't paid all this money for therapy for fucking nothing."