One of the people we lost in a difficult year for many was Todd Snider, who here sings “Long Year.”
As the year comes to a close and our planet completes another trip around the sun, humans reflect on the time that has passed. For many, this year has been particularly rough.
One of the many losses this year was the death of singer-songwriter Todd Snider, who may best sum up the year in his song, “Long Year.” In the video below, he recently re-recorded the song as part of a project of making new acoustic performances of his back catalog available for free to his fans.
Here is wishing you a happy new year and a better world.
It’s been a long long long year It’s been a long long long year How did I get here?
Singer-Songwriter Todd Snider passed away unexpectedly in November 2025 after some recent odd news. We remember his music and a live show from 2010.
Todd Snider passed away at age 59 on November 14, 2025 after a few weeks of strange news on social media from his Instagram account and from his record label Aimless, Inc. First, his Instagram account posted on November 3, 2025 that Snider was cancelling tour dates after he had been violently assaulted in Salt Lake City, Utah. Not long after that, news broke that Snider had been arrested in Salt Lake City at the hospital where he went after the assault. By reports, he had been discharged but then returned to the hospital saying he was not well enough to leave and things escalated from there. He was charged with disorderly conduct, threat of violence and criminal trespassing.
While we still were waiting on any more verifiable news about the assault and arrest, Snider’s family and friends revealed that he had passed away. They noted that he had been “quietly suffering from an undiagnosed case of walking pneumonia.” His publicist later confirmed that Snider had died from pneumonia. Aimless, Inc. wrote:
“He relayed so much tenderness and sensitivity through his songs, and showed many of us how to look at the world through a different lens. He got up every morning and started writing, always working towards finding his place among the songwriting giants that sat on his record shelves, those same giants who let him into their lives and took him under their wings, who he studied relentlessly. Guy Clark, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Jeff Walker.”
Todd Snider had been touring in support of his latest album High, Lonesome and Then Some. He leaves behind a wonderful collection of albums, many of which he recently re-recorded as acoustic versions with the stories behind the songs (giving the downloads away for free on his website). I first discovered his music in 200 with Happy to Be Here, and 2003’s Near Truths and Hotel Rooms remains one of my favorite live albums.
The outpouring of sorrow and love for Snider has been a testament to how his music touched many lives. He never had a major hit and many reports on his death struggled to figure out what Snider song to put in their headlines (For example, Hollywood Reporter headlines “Alright Guy”; Deadline headlines that his song “Just Like Old Times”” inspired the 2020 film Hard Luck Love Song; San Antonio Express-News mentions “Beer Run” in its headline, etc.). But many loved his music. If you know artists like Todd Snider and Jerry Jeff Walker, you get it.
While the circumstances of Todd Snider’s death leave us with many questions. his music leaves us with much joy. Whether you are a fan or new to his work, check out this great Nashville live show The Storyteller – Todd Snider Live from Nashville (with Great American Taxi). The show was recorded at the James K. Polk Theatre on February 20, 2010. The title captures that he always was a great storyteller, and we hope he is somewhere telling Jerry Jeff some new stories. RIP.
There was a lot of love going around in last night’s tribute to John Prine called Pictire Show: Tribute to John Prine. Singers, performers, and friends appearing with stories and songs included Bonnie Raitt , Todd Snider, Sturgill Simpson, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Bill Murray, Kevin Bacon, Rita Wilson, and many others.
Throughout the tribute, Prine’s wife Fiona Prine makes several appearances to introduce artists. It is a loving tribute with great stories and music.
The full tribute is available for a limited time through Sunday, June 14. So, for now, check it out below. [Update: The full show is no longer online.]
There are two songs called “Beer Run” that are very similar. Did the George Jones and Garth Brooks version steal from Todd Snider’s “Beer Run”?
Singer-songwriter Todd Snider tells a funny story about his song “Beer Run” and how his song may or may not have been co-opted by other songwriters. A song with a similar title as Snider’s song was later recorded by Garth Brooks and George Jones.
Having heard both songs, I initially thought the George Jones and Garth Brooks song was a cover of the Todd Snider song. But it is a different song.
Todd Snider’s “Beer Run”
First, check out Todd Snider’s “Beer Run.” Snider’s song appeared on his 2001 album New Connection, and a live version of the song appears on his 2002 CD Near Truths and Hotel Rooms.
This Todd Snider version is from March 2007, with Snider performing at Front Porch House Concerts in Boulder Colorado.
The Garth Brooks and George Jones “Beer Run”
In 2001, Garth Brooks and George Jones recorded their version of the song called “Beer Run.” The Garth Brooks song appeared on Brooks’s 2001 album Scarecrow, and it was written by Kent Blazy, Kim Williams, Amanda Williams, Keith Anderson, and George Ducas.
Like Snider’s song, the Garth Brooks one uses spelling of the phrase (“B double E double are you in” [get it? r-u-n]) in the chorus.
And here is George Jones joining Garth Brooks singing “Beer Run”:
Even though George Jones is one of the greatest singers of all-time, the Todd Snider song “Beer Run” is much superior to the other version, at least in my estimation.
Todd Snider’s Response
But what does Snider think about the rip-off of his song? In the video below, after telling the funny story of the two songs, Snider shows how he can play the same game.
Thus, Snider sings “his” new song that just happens to have a similar title to “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” one of Garth Brooks’s recordings that Brooks wrote with Kent Blazy (one of the “Beer Run” songwriters). The video is from the same March 2007 Colorado performance as above.
Although at one point, both sides thought the other side stole “Beer Run,” they eventually agreed to assume they both were written independently. Snider did later have a brief encounter with Blazy about the song.
But Snider has no animosity toward Garth Brooks. The superstar treated Snider well when he planned to use one of Snider’s songs for his Chris Gaines project.
Which “Beer Run” do you prefer? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In the video below, singer-songwriter Todd Snider tells a wonderful story about hanging out with Jerry Jeff Walker, who wrote the classic “Mr. Bojangles.” And then the songwriter himself — who was born born Ronald Clyde Crosby on March 16, 1942 in Oneonta, New York — appears with Snider to sing the song.
Video of Snider and Walker
It’s great to see Snider on stage with Walker, as they are both very talented artists who do not get near the acclaim they deserve. So it makes me happy to think of the two hanging out at a bar. Check it out.
The Inspiration for “Mr. Bojangles”
In the introduction, Snider jokes about how Walker came out of jail with the song. And he is telling the truth.
Although many mistakenly believe that the song is about the dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Walker was inspired to write the song by a different man. He met the real “Mr. Bojangles” in a New Orleans jail during the Fourth of July weekend in 1965.
I met him in a cell in New Orleans; I was down and out; He looked to me to be the eyes of age, As he spoke right out; He talked of life, talked of life, He laughed, clicked his heels and stepped.
Walker was in the slammer for public intoxication when he met the homeless man who inspired the song. The man did tell Walker the sad story about the dog, and then he danced.
He Said His Name “Bojangles”
According to Wikipedia, the man did tell Walker he went by the name “Mr. Bojangles.” Apparently, he used the name to conceal his real identity from the police.
A 2000 article in the Post and Courier newspaper, though, claims that after Walker met the man in jail, Walker later added the “Bojangles” name. The article says that Walker used a common name used by street dancers in New Orleans. By contrast, Walker’s biography supports that the man in jail did use the name “Bojangles.”
Either way, the song is one of the all-time classics. Many also may have been introduced to the song by Sammy Davis Jr.’s wonderful version. But I wonder whatever happened to the man who inspired the song and whether or not he ever knew a great song was written about him?
In the video below, Jerry Jeff Walker talks to Bruce Robison about writing “Mr. Bojangles” and plays the song. Check it out.
What is your favorite Jerry Jeff Walker song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
