Best known for his wry humor, Snider has been a fixture on the Americana, alt-country, and folk scene since his debut on MCA, entitled Songs for the Daily Planet, named for the bar where Snider used to play regularly in Memphis. On that album were the minor hits "Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues", a folk song about the early '90's grunge scene, featuring a band that "refused to play", and "Alright Guy", which later became the title cut of Gary Allan's 2001 album.
He released two more albums for MCA, Step Right Up and Viva Satellite, the latter often sparking colorful debate amongst fans for its comparisons to Tom Petty. He moved to John Prine's Oh Boy Records where he made Happy to Be Here, New Connection, Near Truths and Hotel Rooms, and East Nashville Skyline. That Was Me: The Best of Todd Snider 1994–1998 was released on the Hip-O label in August 2005.
Todd Snider's next studio album, The Devil You Know, was released in August 2006. It marked Snider's return to a major label, as he is now recording for New Door Records, a subsidiary of Universal Records.
The Devil You Know was named to several critics' year-end "best" lists, including a No. 33 ranking in Rolling Stone magazine's top 50 albums of the year, a No. 25 ranking by No Depression magazine, and No. 14 by Blender magazine.
Snider's songs "Late Last Night" and "I Believe You" have been recorded by the Oklahoma country-rock band Cross Canadian Ragweed. He co-wrote the song "Barbie Doll" with country star Jack Ingram.
Snider's new album, Peace Queer, is set to be released on October 14th, 2008, and will be available as a free download from Oct. 11 to Oct. 31 at http://www.toddsnider.net/store/product/1/Peace-Queer .
America
Todd Snider Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back in 1970
When he and his wife took a trip to the ballpark
A little bit differently
So by the time he hit the bullpen
Half the world had melted away
That's about the time coach Murtaugh said
Hey dock your pitching today
Taking the mound the ground turned into
The icing on a birthday cake
The lead off man came up and turned into
A dancing rattle snake
The crowd tracked back and forth
In waves of color underneath the sun
The ball turned into a silver bullet
His arm into a gun
I took a look all around the world one time
Finally discovered
You cant judge a book
Three up three down for three straight innings
In a zero zero tie
As all those batters names came ringing
From some voice out of the sky
Hallucinating Halloween scenes
Each new swing of the bat
His sinker looked like it was falling off a table
But nobody was hallucinating that
I took a look all around the world one time
Finally discovered
You cant judge a book
By the top of the seventh he was up one to nothing
And giving them padres fits
By the bottom of the eighth he was up two to nothing
And they still hadn't got any hits
With one out left to go in the game
The batter looked like a baby child
The birthday caking was shaking
And those waves of color were going wild
When he finally mowed the last man down
He was high as he had ever been
Laughing to the sound of the world going around
Completely unaware of the win
And while the papers would say he was scattered that day
He was pretty as a pitcher could be
The day dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh pirates
Threw a no hitter on LSD
I took a look all around the world one time
Finally discovered
You cant judge a book
The song "America" by Todd Snider tells the story of Dock Ellis, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 1970. The story goes that Ellis and his wife took LSD before heading to the ballpark to watch the game, but to their surprise, Ellis was told at the last minute that he would be pitching that day. As he took to the mound, the drugs had taken effect, and he experienced hallucinations and a surreal sense of detachment from reality. However, despite his altered state, Ellis managed to pitch a no-hitter, an achievement that is considered remarkable, even for a sober athlete.
The lyrics describe Ellis's experience in detail, from the moment he arrived at the ballpark to his final pitch. The song emphasizes the contrast between the chaos of his hallucinations and the precision and focus required for a pitcher to succeed in a high-stakes game. Ultimately, the message of the song is that you can't judge a book by its cover, and that even those who seem scattered or out of touch may possess incredible talent and ability.
Line by Line Meaning
Dock Ellis didn't think he would pitch that day
Dock Ellis did not plan on pitching on the day of the incident
Back in 1970
The incident occurred in the year 1970
When he and his wife took a trip to the ballpark
Dock Ellis went to the ballpark with his wife
A little bit differently
Dock Ellis was under the influence of a mind-altering drug
So by the time he hit the bullpen
By the time he got to the bullpen, the effects of the drug had kicked in
Half the world had melted away
Dock Ellis was experiencing vivid hallucinations
That's about the time coach Murtaugh said
At that moment, coach Murtaugh told Dock Ellis he would be pitching
Hey dock your pitching today
Coach Murtaugh informed Dock Ellis that he would be pitching that day
Taking the mound the ground turned into
When Dock Ellis got onto the pitching mound, his surroundings transformed
The icing on a birthday cake
The ground resembled the smooth surface of a birthday cake with icing
The lead off man came up and turned into
The first batter turned into something that he was not
A dancing rattle snake
The first batter transformed into a dancing rattlesnake
The crowd tracked back and forth
The audience swayed back and forth excitedly
In waves of color underneath the sun
The audience moved in colorful waves under the bright sun
The ball turned into a silver bullet
The ball flying toward Dock Ellis looked like a gleaming silver bullet
His arm into a gun
Dock Ellis' pitching arm visually resembled a gun
Three up three down for three straight innings
Three batters were struck out in a row for three consecutive innings
In a zero zero tie
The score was tied at zero for both teams
As all those batters names came ringing
Dock Ellis heard the names of the batters as if they were being announced through a loudspeaker
From some voice out of the sky
The voice that Dock Ellis heard sounded as if it came from the sky
Hallucinating Halloween scenes
Dock Ellis was experiencing vivid hallucinations of Halloween-related imagery
Each new swing of the bat
Every time a batter swung their bat, Dock Ellis experienced a new visual hallucination
His sinker looked like it was falling off a table
The ball that Dock Ellis threw appeared to be falling off a table
But nobody was hallucinating that
Despite Dock Ellis' altered state, the ball he threw had a real physical effect
By the top of the seventh he was up one to nothing
By the seventh inning, Dock Ellis' team was winning one to nothing
And giving them padres fits
Dock Ellis was making life difficult for the batters on the Padres team
By the bottom of the eighth he was up two to nothing
By the eighth inning, Dock Ellis' team was winning two to nothing
And they still hadn't got any hits
The opposing team had not scored any hits against Dock Ellis
With one out left to go in the game
There was one out left in the final inning of the game
The batter looked like a baby child
To Dock Ellis, the last batter of the game looked like a baby
The birthday caking was shaking
The ground under Dock Ellis' feet was trembling
And those waves of color were going wild
The audience was going wild with excitement
When he finally mowed the last man down
Dock Ellis was successful in striking out the final batter
He was high as he had ever been
Dock Ellis was still experiencing the effects of the drug he had taken earlier in the day
Laughing to the sound of the world going around
Dock Ellis was gleefully enjoying the sounds and sensations of the environment around him
Completely unaware of the win
Dock Ellis was not fully aware that he had won the game
And while the papers would say he was scattered that day
Despite Dock Ellis' success on the field, the media reported that he was not fully in control of his faculties during the game
He was pretty as a pitcher could be
Dock Ellis played an excellent game of baseball
The day dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh pirates
The day when Dock Ellis, a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitched a no-hitter
Threw a no hitter on LSD
Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD
I took a look all around the world one time
The artist looked around the world
Finally discovered
They discovered something of importance
You cant judge a book
It is not possible to accurately judge someone or something based on appearances alone
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: Todd Daniel Snider
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jonw12
Absolutely love Todd. I think he'd be proud I've paid to see him twice and also jumped a fence to see him twice for free.
@GerardPerry
"I'm going to share them because they rhyme."
This guy gets folk music.
@thomastate2716
Is that over the portion of the program?
@thomasellis554
@@thomastate2716 portion of the program.
@stevethebodyman
He gave me his guitar pick back in 97. I still have it.
@TheOsfania
Todd Snider is a national treasure.
@itsmeitsmeearnestt.5772
Mark have been Posting Todd's songs on FB for years.
@iamgod2063
self hating white
@kidaicarasmurphy4938
DISHONER
@dogsys
@@iamgod2063 how?