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 .
Carla
Todd Snider Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lonesome's falling everywhere
Without you there's no light coming in
That lucky dog jumped the fence
Ain't seen him around here since
And I don't guess I ever will again
It didn't bother me any, I was good to that dog
And just like you I'm gonna have to learn to let him go
Leaving me was one thing Carla
Why'd you have to leave so slow?
Slow and shifty backing out
You were trying to fill my head with doubt
You nearly had me walking out on you
About the oldest trick to be
Playing on someone as old as me
That can not be the best that you can do
It didn't bother me any when he come around
I just wish I hadn't been the last guy in town to know
I didn't mind you walking away
What hurt was how you walked so slow
You know, you go
You know that was so underhanded
Grabbing him just as you landed
After holding me the whole time you fell
You tell me he'll be good to you
Who wouldn't be? What else is new?
And now all that I can do is wish you well
It wouldn't have bothered me any
If you left me when you wanted to
But you just had to wait until you had some place better to go
Leaving me was one thing Carla
Why'd you have to leave so slow?
I didn't mind you walking away
What hurt was how you walked so slow
The lyrics of Todd Snider’s song Carla depict a man struggling to cope with the aftermath of a breakup. He is left alone with an empty house that reminds him of the loneliness he feels inside. The absence of his partner in his life leads to the absence of light or brightness in his life as well. The man remarks at how a dog that he used to take care of had run away and disappeared, just like his partner. He had been good to the dog just like he had been good to her, but it seems like he has to learn to let go of them both. The pain of the separation is multiplied by its protracted nature, as his partner seems to leave him bit by bit, with a slow and shifty demeanor, filled with manipulations and underhanded tricks. The man wishes his partner well but cannot help but wonder why she didn’t leave earlier instead of stay around to cause more hurt.
The song can be interpreted as a nuanced commentary on the nature of breakups, and the impact they have on people’s emotional and psychological wellbeing. The lyrics highlight the way people sometimes choose to leave each other in small increments rather than just cutting all ties at once. It also shows how some people use manipulations and tricks to prolong the inevitable split, causing pain and distress to all parties involved. The man in the song is left to wonder why his partner felt the need to leave slowly and cause him further pain, when she could have left him outright when she initially wanted to.
Line by Line Meaning
An empty house is hard to bear
Being alone in a house is difficult
Lonesome's falling everywhere
Feeling lonely everywhere
Without you there's no light coming in
Without you, there's no happiness or positivity in my life
That lucky dog jumped the fence
The lucky dog ran away
Ain't seen him around here since
I haven't seen the dog since he ran away
And I don't guess I ever will again
I don't think I'll ever see him again
It didn't bother me any, I was good to that dog
I wasn't upset that the dog ran away because I treated him well
And just like you I'm gonna have to learn to let him go
I have to accept that the dog is gone, just like I have to accept that you left me
Leaving me was one thing Carla
Breaking up with me was one thing, Carla
Why'd you have to leave so slow?
Why did you take so long to leave me?
Slow and shifty backing out
You left me slowly and sneakily
You were trying to fill my head with doubt
You were trying to make me doubt myself
You nearly had me walking out on you
You almost made me break up with you instead
About the oldest trick to be
It's a very old trick
Playing on someone as old as me
Playing games with someone as experienced as me
That can not be the best that you can do
You're better than that
It didn't bother me any when he come around
I wasn't upset when I found out you were with someone else
I just wish I hadn't been the last guy in town to know
I wish I hadn't been the last one to find out about your new relationship
I didn't mind you walking away
I wasn't upset that you left me
What hurt was how you walked so slow
What hurt was how slowly you left me
You know, you go
You're leaving no matter what
You know that was so underhanded
You know your actions were sneaky and deceitful
Grabbing him just as you landed
You started seeing someone else right after breaking up with me
After holding me the whole time you fell
After being in a relationship with me for so long
You tell me he'll be good to you
You told me he'll treat you well
Who wouldn't be? What else is new?
Of course he'll treat you well, what's new about that?
And now all that I can do is wish you well
All I can do is hope that you'll be happy
It wouldn't have bothered me any
I wouldn't have been upset
If you left me when you wanted to
If you broke up with me earlier
But you just had to wait until you had some place better to go
You waited to break up with me until you had someone else lined up
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: Todd Daniel Snider
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind