Todd Snider ponders a lyric during a session in 2009 at Sound Emporium in Nashville. (Photo by Stacie Huckeba)
The Snider Files soon will be publishing a ranking of Todd Snider’s Top 25 songs. But before we do that, we’d like to know your favorite Todd Snider songs. To that end, we’re trying something different the Substack platform offers and starting a thread dedicated to a discussion of our subscribers’ favorite songs written by Snider. This thread is open to both free and paid subscribers.
So many favorites it's hard to choose. My Generation, I Spoke as a Child, Don't Tempt Me, Watering Flowers In The Pouring Rain, Force of Nature, Long Year, Train Song, he's a lyrical genius and always delivers them in such a sweet way. 💜
1) I really identify my younger, hopeless romantic self, blinded by love, and always being the last one to know my relationships were ending. But always looking back and thinking, “yeah, I should have seen that coming a mile away!!”
2) I just think it is a real fun song to sing along to.
Todd songs can just grab you lift you up take you down make you feel sentimental make you laugh make you cry draw you in to one of his tales I just think he’s such a gem. I’m happy to get the feeling he’s doing much better healthwise.. some of the first ones I heard I think on stage in Austin Texas before I even was aware of him at a Jerry Jeff Walker birthday tribute. I think he sang I’m an all right guy, lonely girl and dueted with jerry jeff singing Bojangles. Too soon to tell is one of my favorites also. Keep it going Todd!
Just Like Overnight because of the storytelling, how well he worked it into his set in Memphis, and the nostalgic feeling.
Conservative Christian sums up the world quite nicely. The Storyteller Live story is iconic.
Sideshow Blues was my first favorite when I started listening to Todd. Especially the live version and story.
I feel like every show I’ve ever been to, I walk away feeling like I heard every single one of my favorite songs. The Todd Snider live experience and connection he makes with the audience is like no other. Amazing human being.
Others have summed it up best, “My favorite Todd snider song is whichever one I’m currently listening too.”
Thanks for doing this project Daryl. It is well done and something I always look forward to.
Hey, Tony, I'm responding to the comment you left about a Camp WTF scholarship. Just FYI, The Shithouse Choir has so far sent three people to Camp WTF; 1 last year, and 2 this year. Are you a member? If not, look us up at Shithouse Wire on Facebook. ✌️ Smell ya later.
That is awesome that y’all have done that, and not surprising that the Shithouse community has already been helping out others! I’m not on Facebook; this and YouTube is the only social media I’m willing to interact with. I will definitely get my family members to look into your page though!
Thanks for the heads up and keep up the great work!
So many favorites! Too Soon to Tell, You Think You Know Somebody, Tillamook County Jail, Doublewide Blues, Play a Tran Song, 45 miles, The Devil You Know....I am always happy to hear any of Todd's songs.
For years my favorite was “Can’t Complain” with “Happy to be Here” a close second. Then “Like a Force of Nature” came out and I was truly blown away. Hands down my favorite. Some of the best (and seemingly most heartfelt) lyrics Todd’s ever written.
I also love all Todd’s covers, “Enjoy Yourself”, “West Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown” and especially anything by Billy Joe Shaver (Good News Blues, Live Forever).
Play a train song, the resignation vs the comeback, turn me loose, mission accomplished, turn it up, just like old times, 45 miles, Roman candles, long year, sail on, dope is dope, ways and means
to me, it's the way it works. the first half is grounded in reality, and then the back half is fantasy. the mood can be up or down, depending on how you want to relate to it on a particular day or mood. It's clever without being too clever, and honest without being too honest.
You’re so right, I do hear it differently, depending on how I’m feeling. On the versions where his voice is really high when he says , “ I feel like the captain of the team“, it’s just heartbreaking! I always figure it’s the pain meds talking at the end, but I love it when he says “walking soles into the holes of my shoes”.
Roman Candles. I know it's a HWA song but that song gives me chills every time. I can listen to Money, Compliments and Publicity over and over. Too Soon to Tell. Some Things Are.
Idk how anyone can choose an absolute favorite…but, I can pare it down to my top four! 😂 (Roman Candles, Watering Flowers in the Rain, Like a Force of Nature, and Just Like Overnight.) I’m not sure what I can say about one of these.. or about any of his songs.. that can’t be said about all of them. It’s the way he sets the stage for a story but leaves enough to the imagination that our minds can fill in their own details, his wry wit, the way he slips in an undeniable truth here and there, his ability to be brutally honest about himself/life but with humor, what seems like a slight hint of wistfulness for might have been but simultaneously a sense of being alright with how things turned out, his ability to turn a phrase or to use one in a way that sounds new to our ears…and, all with a kind of subtle groove. He just breaks it all down and makes it sound simple. Nobody else writes like this.
Michael, I noticed you used the original title for "Slim Chance" from "Crank It, We're Doomed." Does that mean you prefer that version of the song with its garage rock arrangement?
I do like the groove of the doomed version- makes me dance. It connects me to the feeling of hope despite driving off a cliff. Almost like Happy Days in the 50's....lets all dance despite we are learning how to climb under our desks because a nuclear bomb is about the drop.
I love every Todd Snider song but “Too Soon to Tell” gets first place! Other favorites are “Opening Statement” and “The Devil You Know”. Honestly I love every song Todd ever wrote!
Too Soon To Tell is one of the best but some of my favorite ones are the third person story tunes like D.B. Cooper and Americas Favorite Pastime. Ballad of the Devils Backbone is quintessential Snider as well. So many great ones…curious to see how this list shapes up.
Can't Complain. Enjoy Yourself has knocked 5 years off of my retirement date (Jan 2025 now). Todd's music replaced my therapist in 2013 and I'm happier now to boot.
The Story of the Ballad of The Devil's Backbone Tavern.
My Story of that Ballad started when our RV which we live in broke down near Austin, TX. We had to leave it for a week to be repaired so decided to drive to Wimberly TX to see Ray Wiley Hubbard sing in a church of all places. We were fairly new to Todd but had already fallen in love with him. We had seen him in Tomball, Luckenbach, and somewhere else. Anyway.... driving to Wimberly we are cruising down a long semi country road and out of the blue I see an old shitty one horse bar and low and behold it's The Devil's Backbone Tavern! STOP!!
We whipped in and sure enough they remembered Todd in there. Sadly, Vergi wasn't still there. However after a couple beers and games of pool I had to pee and Guess what I found????? You'll have to look at my picture closely to see. Totally made it onto my list of coolest things in my life.
Working On A Song and Seems Like Old Times are my go to's.
But the one I "use" the most is Enjoy Yourself. Every time my boss sends an email or a team's message on a holiday or days off I just reply with a link to that song.
Just Like Old Times - so great it deserved (and got) it's own movie based on it. Narrowly edges out 50 other great ones by him (Play A Train Song and Just In Case for silver and bronze).
I was curious about this, myself so I went through the albums and tried to narrow it down which is pretty hard to do, but after starting out with over 20 songs, I narrowed it down to ten. These songs never get old for me. The top of the list favorite song has been "Too Soon To Tell" ever since it came out. There is not a throw away line in this song. Period. The imagery is so vivid and this has to be the best argument with god song ever. "I wish I could show you how you've hurt me in a way that wouldn't hurt you too". The rest of my list in no particular order: " Easy Money" and "Trouble" are two of his best written, should have been a big hit songs he's ever made. Life just isn't fair. "Rose City" makes me feel like I was right there with him in high school. "Long Year" (It ain't easy) "Play A Train Song" another well written homage to a very dear friend. "Missing You" make me tear up every time. Literally makes me want to pull down these shades and play some old songs. Beautiful song. "Brenda" Musically, one of my favorite sounds that Todd recorded. A great love song for a couple of songwriters. "Sunshine" another great story song that takes tragedy and turns it into a happy experience. I love the whistling that accompanies this whenever he performs it live. "Just Like Old Times" another great story songs that choke me up every time he downplays the picture in his wallet. It's difficult to look at the songs that didn't make my top 10. So many great songs from this songwriter. Thanks, Todd.
"I wish I could show you how you've hurt me in a way that wouldn't hurt you too".
That’s one of the lines that floats around in my head and reminds me to be a better person. Wanna make this game even harder try to pick your favorite Todd line. My head would explode.
All of My Life reminds me that 25 years ago I caught her on a weak moment and she said "I do".
We all love the stories and the Barefoot Hippie persona,but the man can write songs that touch your heart,as well as crazy fun songs and ballads.That is the pure genius of Todd Snider.
That's my litmus test for potential friends. If you don't love Todd,we just can't be friends.
Like all of you, my favorite at the moment changes regularly, over the course of my 25 year fandom, Can’t Complain has been #1. I love the baseball references, the flow of the verses, the fact that it’s one of Todd’s favorites and how it can be taken into other great songs and brought back. All of that said, “Roman Candles” has become 1A and is my “new favorite”.
I have a lot of favorites when it comes to Todd's songs. Watering Flowers in the Pouring Rain is one. The chord progression is catchy and the inside baseball lyrics that non-fans always misconstrue makes me smile.
Like with the songwriters I love most my favorite Todd Snider song changes depending on where my body and mind are at the time. A couple of standbys are Play and a Train Song and Seems like Old Times which both belong in some hypothetical song writers hall of fame for telling complete stories between the lines and somehow making me feel a nostalgia for experiences I didn’t have.
That said currently Just Like Overnight is my favorite. Apparently I need that perspective in my life right now and it makes me laugh, smile, and feel wistful.
I would also like to give a complete WTf for the fact that I can not listen to Vinyl Records on vinyl. Like seriously that shit ain’t right.
I like what you said, "...somehow making me feel a nostalgia for experiences I didn’t have". So true. We've all had "near enough experiences" so we can empathize with many of his.
I was in a very dark and sad place and some amazing shitheads invited me on vacation. I said I was "happy to be here" and someone said hey, that's a Todd Snider song! I was introduced to his music and watch my first Sunday church service. (During COVID) That trip literally saved my life and I can't imagine where I'd be without that trip and Todd's music.
Here's a difficult-to-choose Top 3:
From a Rooftop
Broke
Sail on My Friend
and here's some including-but-not-limited-to's:
Precious Little Miracles
Just like Overnight
Watering Flowers in the Rain
Brenda
The Very Last Time
New York Banker
Agnostic Preacher's Lament
What's wrong with you
Money Compliments and Publicity
Ballad of Cape Henry
East Nashville skyline
Just Like Old Times
Thin Wild Mercury
Happy New Year
Looking for a Job
Carla
Play a Train Song
New Connection
Ballad of the Devils Backbone Tavern
Rocket Fuel
Long Year
Cant Complain
Side Show Blues
Better Than Ever Blues Part 2
Alright Guy
Easy Money
So many favorites it's hard to choose. My Generation, I Spoke as a Child, Don't Tempt Me, Watering Flowers In The Pouring Rain, Force of Nature, Long Year, Train Song, he's a lyrical genius and always delivers them in such a sweet way. 💜
I have this odd affinity for Greencastle Blues, because of "Some of this trouble just finds me, Most of this trouble I earn" - hits home.
Carla
1) I really identify my younger, hopeless romantic self, blinded by love, and always being the last one to know my relationships were ending. But always looking back and thinking, “yeah, I should have seen that coming a mile away!!”
2) I just think it is a real fun song to sing along to.
In no particular order (because that’s basically impossible)…
Just Like Old Times
The Ballad of the Kingsmen
Alright Guy
Statistician’s Blues
Beer Run
Play A Train Song
My Generation Part II
The Very Last Time
This Land Is Our Land
Like A Force Of Nature
Vinyl Records
Conservative Christian…
Can’t Complain
Age Like Wine
Easy Money
Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues
Nashville
East Nashville Skyline
Trouble
Sideshow Blues
Late Last Night
I Am Too
Stuck On The Corner
Rose City
Ballad of The Devil’s Backbone Tavern
Todd songs can just grab you lift you up take you down make you feel sentimental make you laugh make you cry draw you in to one of his tales I just think he’s such a gem. I’m happy to get the feeling he’s doing much better healthwise.. some of the first ones I heard I think on stage in Austin Texas before I even was aware of him at a Jerry Jeff Walker birthday tribute. I think he sang I’m an all right guy, lonely girl and dueted with jerry jeff singing Bojangles. Too soon to tell is one of my favorites also. Keep it going Todd!
Too soon to tell (solo acoustic versions); can’t complain; Roman candles; I spoke as a child; and a whole lot more!
Can't Complain or Too Soon to Tell, depending on my mood.
Just Like Overnight because of the storytelling, how well he worked it into his set in Memphis, and the nostalgic feeling.
Conservative Christian sums up the world quite nicely. The Storyteller Live story is iconic.
Sideshow Blues was my first favorite when I started listening to Todd. Especially the live version and story.
I feel like every show I’ve ever been to, I walk away feeling like I heard every single one of my favorite songs. The Todd Snider live experience and connection he makes with the audience is like no other. Amazing human being.
Others have summed it up best, “My favorite Todd snider song is whichever one I’m currently listening too.”
Thanks for doing this project Daryl. It is well done and something I always look forward to.
Hey, Tony, I'm responding to the comment you left about a Camp WTF scholarship. Just FYI, The Shithouse Choir has so far sent three people to Camp WTF; 1 last year, and 2 this year. Are you a member? If not, look us up at Shithouse Wire on Facebook. ✌️ Smell ya later.
That is awesome that y’all have done that, and not surprising that the Shithouse community has already been helping out others! I’m not on Facebook; this and YouTube is the only social media I’m willing to interact with. I will definitely get my family members to look into your page though!
Thanks for the heads up and keep up the great work!
I am not, how do I get on there?
Thanks, my friend. Just curious; are you on the original Shithouse email listserv?
Horseshoe Lake
So many favorites! Too Soon to Tell, You Think You Know Somebody, Tillamook County Jail, Doublewide Blues, Play a Tran Song, 45 miles, The Devil You Know....I am always happy to hear any of Todd's songs.
For years my favorite was “Can’t Complain” with “Happy to be Here” a close second. Then “Like a Force of Nature” came out and I was truly blown away. Hands down my favorite. Some of the best (and seemingly most heartfelt) lyrics Todd’s ever written.
I also love all Todd’s covers, “Enjoy Yourself”, “West Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown” and especially anything by Billy Joe Shaver (Good News Blues, Live Forever).
The Devil You Know & Just Like Old Times.
Play a train song, the resignation vs the comeback, turn me loose, mission accomplished, turn it up, just like old times, 45 miles, Roman candles, long year, sail on, dope is dope, ways and means
Sunshine.
sorry, i didn't give you the "why".
to me, it's the way it works. the first half is grounded in reality, and then the back half is fantasy. the mood can be up or down, depending on how you want to relate to it on a particular day or mood. It's clever without being too clever, and honest without being too honest.
Man, that song… 💔
You’re so right, I do hear it differently, depending on how I’m feeling. On the versions where his voice is really high when he says , “ I feel like the captain of the team“, it’s just heartbreaking! I always figure it’s the pain meds talking at the end, but I love it when he says “walking soles into the holes of my shoes”.
Roman Candles. I know it's a HWA song but that song gives me chills every time. I can listen to Money, Compliments and Publicity over and over. Too Soon to Tell. Some Things Are.
HWA songs are fine, Scott, and will be considered for The Snider Files forthcoming ranking of Todd's Top 25 songs.
Idk how anyone can choose an absolute favorite…but, I can pare it down to my top four! 😂 (Roman Candles, Watering Flowers in the Rain, Like a Force of Nature, and Just Like Overnight.) I’m not sure what I can say about one of these.. or about any of his songs.. that can’t be said about all of them. It’s the way he sets the stage for a story but leaves enough to the imagination that our minds can fill in their own details, his wry wit, the way he slips in an undeniable truth here and there, his ability to be brutally honest about himself/life but with humor, what seems like a slight hint of wistfulness for might have been but simultaneously a sense of being alright with how things turned out, his ability to turn a phrase or to use one in a way that sounds new to our ears…and, all with a kind of subtle groove. He just breaks it all down and makes it sound simple. Nobody else writes like this.
well said!
Thanks, man! I enjoy seeing your comments here.
Force of nature and opening statement always get me. But truthfully, it’s whatever playing at the minute - especially if it’s live
You are all beautiful and correct! That is the right song.
For me - it just has a personal meaning..that is all.....
Slim Chance is Still a Chance.
Michael, I noticed you used the original title for "Slim Chance" from "Crank It, We're Doomed." Does that mean you prefer that version of the song with its garage rock arrangement?
I do like the groove of the doomed version- makes me dance. It connects me to the feeling of hope despite driving off a cliff. Almost like Happy Days in the 50's....lets all dance despite we are learning how to climb under our desks because a nuclear bomb is about the drop.
B double E double R U N!
Highland Street Incident - “Didn’t shoot anyone, didn’t get shot”
Play a Train Song!!
Americas favorite pastime is in the top 3
Right off the bat, Just Like Old Times is a perfect song. Oh wait, that’s Play a Train Song. Don’t make me choose.
The Devil You Know blew my mind and made me fall in love with Todd’s music.
Somewhat underrated songs: Brenda; Greencastle Blues.
Song that always makes me LOL: Money Compliments, Publicity.
Just like everyone else, this is extremely difficult for me. I have to go with “Too Soon To Tell” as well but that could change tomorrow!
This is pretty tough. So I'll just throw one out there. Talking Reality TV Blues.
I love every Todd Snider song but “Too Soon to Tell” gets first place! Other favorites are “Opening Statement” and “The Devil You Know”. Honestly I love every song Todd ever wrote!
These are great. Keep 'em coming.
Have to go with Just Like Old Times
I heard statisticians blues and have been a Todd fan since
Too Soon To Tell is one of the best but some of my favorite ones are the third person story tunes like D.B. Cooper and Americas Favorite Pastime. Ballad of the Devils Backbone is quintessential Snider as well. So many great ones…curious to see how this list shapes up.
Can't Complain. Enjoy Yourself has knocked 5 years off of my retirement date (Jan 2025 now). Todd's music replaced my therapist in 2013 and I'm happier now to boot.
Did you tell your therapist that and if so, did they start listening to Todd as well? Replaced before AI could do it and with better results...
The Story of the Ballad of The Devil's Backbone Tavern.
My Story of that Ballad started when our RV which we live in broke down near Austin, TX. We had to leave it for a week to be repaired so decided to drive to Wimberly TX to see Ray Wiley Hubbard sing in a church of all places. We were fairly new to Todd but had already fallen in love with him. We had seen him in Tomball, Luckenbach, and somewhere else. Anyway.... driving to Wimberly we are cruising down a long semi country road and out of the blue I see an old shitty one horse bar and low and behold it's The Devil's Backbone Tavern! STOP!!
We whipped in and sure enough they remembered Todd in there. Sadly, Vergi wasn't still there. However after a couple beers and games of pool I had to pee and Guess what I found????? You'll have to look at my picture closely to see. Totally made it onto my list of coolest things in my life.
Too Soon To Tell
Working On A Song and Seems Like Old Times are my go to's.
But the one I "use" the most is Enjoy Yourself. Every time my boss sends an email or a team's message on a holiday or days off I just reply with a link to that song.
Just Like Old Times - so great it deserved (and got) it's own movie based on it. Narrowly edges out 50 other great ones by him (Play A Train Song and Just In Case for silver and bronze).
I was curious about this, myself so I went through the albums and tried to narrow it down which is pretty hard to do, but after starting out with over 20 songs, I narrowed it down to ten. These songs never get old for me. The top of the list favorite song has been "Too Soon To Tell" ever since it came out. There is not a throw away line in this song. Period. The imagery is so vivid and this has to be the best argument with god song ever. "I wish I could show you how you've hurt me in a way that wouldn't hurt you too". The rest of my list in no particular order: " Easy Money" and "Trouble" are two of his best written, should have been a big hit songs he's ever made. Life just isn't fair. "Rose City" makes me feel like I was right there with him in high school. "Long Year" (It ain't easy) "Play A Train Song" another well written homage to a very dear friend. "Missing You" make me tear up every time. Literally makes me want to pull down these shades and play some old songs. Beautiful song. "Brenda" Musically, one of my favorite sounds that Todd recorded. A great love song for a couple of songwriters. "Sunshine" another great story song that takes tragedy and turns it into a happy experience. I love the whistling that accompanies this whenever he performs it live. "Just Like Old Times" another great story songs that choke me up every time he downplays the picture in his wallet. It's difficult to look at the songs that didn't make my top 10. So many great songs from this songwriter. Thanks, Todd.
"I wish I could show you how you've hurt me in a way that wouldn't hurt you too".
That’s one of the lines that floats around in my head and reminds me to be a better person. Wanna make this game even harder try to pick your favorite Todd line. My head would explode.
Gabe, that's not a bad idea. We might have a thread for favorites lines.
Love this idea!!!
Yes!! Sounds fun!
I love the Last Laugh… and the Better Than Ever Blues pt 2.
All of My Life reminds me that 25 years ago I caught her on a weak moment and she said "I do".
We all love the stories and the Barefoot Hippie persona,but the man can write songs that touch your heart,as well as crazy fun songs and ballads.That is the pure genius of Todd Snider.
That's my litmus test for potential friends. If you don't love Todd,we just can't be friends.
Horseshoe Lake. Hands down. If you disagree, you probably never had a job.
I'm with you, Mike!
Like all of you, my favorite at the moment changes regularly, over the course of my 25 year fandom, Can’t Complain has been #1. I love the baseball references, the flow of the verses, the fact that it’s one of Todd’s favorites and how it can be taken into other great songs and brought back. All of that said, “Roman Candles” has become 1A and is my “new favorite”.
I am sure that"Where Will I Go Now that I'm Gone" will be my favorite. But seriously, I'd have a much easier time picking a favorite child.
I have a lot of favorites when it comes to Todd's songs. Watering Flowers in the Pouring Rain is one. The chord progression is catchy and the inside baseball lyrics that non-fans always misconstrue makes me smile.
Statistician Blues...which I think will get 90% of this vote.
Like with the songwriters I love most my favorite Todd Snider song changes depending on where my body and mind are at the time. A couple of standbys are Play and a Train Song and Seems like Old Times which both belong in some hypothetical song writers hall of fame for telling complete stories between the lines and somehow making me feel a nostalgia for experiences I didn’t have.
That said currently Just Like Overnight is my favorite. Apparently I need that perspective in my life right now and it makes me laugh, smile, and feel wistful.
I would also like to give a complete WTf for the fact that I can not listen to Vinyl Records on vinyl. Like seriously that shit ain’t right.
I like what you said, "...somehow making me feel a nostalgia for experiences I didn’t have". So true. We've all had "near enough experiences" so we can empathize with many of his.
Dollface and framed, I like the way these were written about a different world.
This is an impossible task....but today it is Happy New Year. Sadly the lyrics keep ringing true. Anyhow, back to the lecture at hand....
Horseshoe Lake, hands down is the one that hits me the hardest. But, shit man…. They all speak truths!!
Happy to be Here
I was in a very dark and sad place and some amazing shitheads invited me on vacation. I said I was "happy to be here" and someone said hey, that's a Todd Snider song! I was introduced to his music and watch my first Sunday church service. (During COVID) That trip literally saved my life and I can't imagine where I'd be without that trip and Todd's music.
Play a Train Song