Toad the Wet Sprocket was formed in 1986 at San Marcos High School just outside of Santa Barbara, California, when singer-songwriter Glen Phillips was just a 14-year-old freshman, and the other members were 17-year-old juniors. The band drew its name from the Eric Idle monologue "Rock Notes" on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album from 1980. Their first public appearance was at an open-microphone talent contest in September 1986 (which they lost).
Toad the Wet Sprocket's first album came out in 1989. Named Bread and Circus, it was their first effort for Columbia Records, who had signed them out of high school. The album spawned the singles "Way Away" and "One Little Girl," which made the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, but did not receive much attention.
The follow-up, Pale, was released in 1990 and saw their sound mature. Featuring the singles "Jam" and the Modern Rock Chart hit "Come Back Down," the album was still not a massive success.
The band finally achieved fame with their third album, Fear (released in 1991), which became the band's first RIAA certified platinum album. Also, the singles "All I Want" and "Walk on the Ocean" reached the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1994, after years of heavy touring, the band released their follow-up to Fear, Dulcinea. This album spawned the hit singles "Fall Down", which reached #1 on the US Modern Rock charts as well as #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart, as well as "Something's Always Wrong", which also charted. This album was also certified platinum by the RIAA.
A compilation album of b-sides and rarities, In Light Syrup, was released in 1995; it included the single "Good Intentions", which was featured on the soundtrack for the television show Friends. Largely due to the strength of the single, this compilation was certified as a gold album in 2001.
The release of Coil in 1997 acted much like a follow up to 1994's Dulcinea. Featuring a more electric, rock sound, it contained the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock hit "Come Down", as well as the radio hit "Crazy Life" (which did not chart). The album, despite the success of "Come Down" as a single, failed to reach any sales benchmarks.
Toad the Wet Sprocket formally broke up in July 1998, citing creative differences. Since breaking up, the band performed together in 2002 at a Rape Crisis Center benefit and opened up for Counting Crows. In 2006 they began touring the United States as a band in small-venue, short-run tours each summer.
In 2009, bassist Dean Dinning said Toad the Wet Sprocket was now something each member considered an active project, and though they had not released a new studio album since 1997 and only did small summer tours, they no longer considered themselves "broken up". In May 2010, the band gathered at a California studio to begin re-recording some of their older hits for licensing reasons. Columbia Records owns the masters to the band's albums. Therefore, the band makes little money from them, so to be able to make a living off their own talent again, they made these re-recordings with the goal of having them used in film and TV.
On December 7, 2010, Toad the Wet Sprocket released their first new studio track in 11 years. The holiday track "It Doesn't Feel Like Christmas", a cover of a Sam Phillips original, was posted on their official site, available via Bandcamp, for free download just in time for the holidays, along with a new message on their site: "We're that band that did 'Walk on the Ocean', 'All I Want', 'Something's Always Wrong', and "Fall Down'. The one with the weird name. We're back from a long slumber and look forward to saying hello some time. Keep in touch…" The band had recently signed a deal with Primary Wave to handle their back catalog and any future releases, and on December 11, 2010, the band mentioned, both on stage and in an offstage YouTube interview, that they are currently writing songs for their first new studio album since 1997's Coil. In addition, they began playing two new songs, "Friendly Fire" and "The Moment", which were being worked on for the new album.
On April 12, 2011, Toad the Wet Sprocket released a new greatest hits album titled All You Want in digital and disc form via their official website. The 11-track CD includes brand new studio versions of their hits. The band does not have access to some of the versions they did for Columbia Records in the '90s. However, they did regain full control of the songs from their first two albums, and they planned to re-release them in remastered form on their own label, Abe's Records, following the release of their upcoming studio album.
On March 22, 2013, it was announced via Toad the Wet Sprocket's Facebook page that recording of the new album had been completed. The album was produced and mixed by Mikal Blue at Revolver Studios in Thousand Oaks, California. On June 5, 2013, the band announced the first new single in 16 years on Rolling Stone's website titled "New Constellation". An album of the same name was released on the band's own Abe's Records on October 15, 2013. The band marketed the new album via the crowdsourcing website Kickstarter. The band initially set a fundraising goal of $50,000, expecting it to take about two months to raise that amount. Instead, fans contributed more than $50,000 in less than 20 hours. When the Kickstarter campaign finally came to a close, they had raised a total of $264,762.
In 2014, Toad the Wet Sprocket resumed touring and opened a number of shows for Counting Crows. They showcased some of the new material from New Constellation, the Kickstarter-funded album, including "California Wasted" and the album's title track while playing a number of their earlier hits. During summer 2015, the band went on tour with fellow '90s acts Smash Mouth and Tonic. The band released an EP called Architect of the Ruin on June 16, 2015.
In 2018, Toad the Wet Sprocket announced that they had reissued their albums fear and Dulcinea on a deluxe remastered vinyl LP available through their online store. The same year, they also released a limited deluxe 5-LP box set of colored vinyl for their albums fear, Dulcinea and Acoustic Dance Party.
In a January 2020 interview with ChicagoNow, Glen Phillips stated that "Toad has started recording again." In addition, he confirmed the band's first official lineup change, and that drummer Guss had left the band on good terms. Previous occasional touring member Josh Daubin replaced Guss.
On September 25, 2020, they released a new song entitled “Starting Now”, followed by another new song "Old Habits Die Hard" on October 23rd, from their upcoming album, set to be released in 2021.
There's another band with the same name:
2. Toad The Wet Sprocket was an NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) band active from the mid-70s to 1982. They released two singles, "Pete's Punk Song" and "Reaching the Sky", before their breakup. Their song, "Blues in A", was included on Metal for Muthas compilation (1980).
She Cried
Toad The Wet Sprocket Lyrics
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She turns her cards and writes her name on the napkin
Mow she turns another card
She dreams about the house and romance
He promised but won't deliver
She waits alone
With dried out hopes
And dormant phone
She waits for years
And fantasies melt
New ones appear
But they won't help
And again she catches him
Eye pulls away with light too dim
She calls his name and runs around
But he was faster
All alone in a bad part of town
She waits again
With dried out hopes
And things made for him
A little ride, a little fun was all
He held her tight, got tired and then let go
The strain on her heart
She believed a lying black heart
Painted with promises
Then he left her on the floor
With only the mirror to curse
"Should've known better"
But how she cried
The lyrics to Toad The Wet Sprocket's song 'She Cried' tell the story of a woman who is deeply in love with a man who continuously promises her things but never delivers. She plays solitaire, but all she can dream about is the house and romance that the man promised her but never gave. She waits for him to call or show up, but she only ever gets dried out hopes and dormant phone calls. She waits for years, her fantasies melting and new ones appearing, but nothing ever changes. She catches him one day, but he runs away faster than she can catch him. She waits again, with dried out hopes and things made for him, but he only ever takes a little ride and a little fun before leaving her. She cries, cursing herself and wishing she had known better.
The lyrics paint a picture of a woman who is deeply desperate for love and affection from the man who continuously disappoints her. The solitaire game represents her loneliness, with nobody to play with and nobody to love. The man promised a house and romance, but did not deliver. This left the woman feeling heartbroken and lonely, with nothing but her fantasies to comfort her. She waits and waits, but he only ever comes back to take a little ride and a little fun before leaving her alone again. The strain on her heart is unbearable, as she had believed in his promises only to have them shattered.
The song tells a story of unrequited love and heartbreak, and how it can leave a person isolated and alone. The lyrics are relatable, as many people have experienced a similar feeling of being let down by someone they love. The woman's story serves as a warning to listeners to be cautious with whom they give their hearts to and to learn from her mistakes.
Line by Line Meaning
Solitaire, such a fateful game
Playing solitaire is an ominous sign for her; things are not going well.
She turns her cards and writes her name on the napkin
She is using a bar napkin and a deck of cards to pass the time while waiting for someone.
Mow she turns another card
She is on the verge of literal and metaphorical game-changing events.
She dreams about the house and romance
She longs to be in a happy home with a loving partner.
He promised but won't deliver
She's been let down by someone she trusted.
She waits alone
She finds herself perpetually waiting by herself.
With dried out hopes
Her optimism has run dry, and she is emotionally drained.
And dormant phone
Her phone isn't ringing with any good news.
She waits for years
She's been waiting for a long time without any substantial results.
And fantasies melt
The things she's been dreaming of never materialize, and her imagination slowly fades away.
New ones appear
She creates new fantasies about someone else, hoping for a better future.
But they won't help
She realizes that her fantasies won't make anything a reality.
And again she catches him
She's caught her lover doing something they shouldn't be doing before.
Eye pulls away with light too dim
His gaze shifts without conviction, leading her to believe he's not telling the truth.
She calls his name and runs around
She chases after him imploringly, trying to see if he will stay.
But he was faster
He is not interested in staying and is determined to get away from her.
All alone in a bad part of town
She's in a dangerous part of the city by herself.
With dried out hopes
Her belief in finding love and a relationship has been exhausted.
And things made for him
She has created an environment that was geared specifically toward him.
A little ride, a little fun was all
Their relationship was built around casual pastimes and shallow thrills.
He held her tight, got tired and then let go
He was only interested in her temporarily and then dropped her.
The strain on her heart
The stress and heartache are starting to take a toll on her mentally and physically.
She believed a lying black heart
She fell for a person who instead of being sincere was only pretending to care about her.
Painted with promises
He sold her a false image of what their relationship could or would be.
Then he left her on the floor
He left her flat, instantly ending their relationship without second thoughts.
With only the mirror to curse
Alone in her own presence, all she can do is speak harshly to her reflection.
"Should've known better"
Reflecting on the situation, she acknowledges that she might have made a wrong decision regarding the person she trusted.
But how she cried
She mourns the love that had once been there.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind