Todd Daniel Snider is a singer-songwriter born October 11, 1966 in Portland… Read Full Bio ↴Todd Daniel Snider is a singer-songwriter born October 11, 1966 in Portland, Oregon.

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 .

That Was Me
Todd Snider Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Remember back about five years ago
Drivin' down the highway
Saw a kid there by the road
Long blond dirty hair
His thumb out in the air
That was me
That was me

Remember the kid that walked into your store
The one you told you were sorry,
You weren't hiring anymore
So he walked out your door
His head hung toward the floor
That was me
That was me

I'm a face you've seen a million times
The one who never seems
To fit in between those lines
I'm every broken dream
This world has left behind
I'm a face you've seen a million times

Remember the kid you saw that night downtown
Singin' on the sidewalk
Guitar case on the ground
He looked down on his luck
So you threw him a buck
That was me
That was me

Remember back about five years ago
Drivin' down the highway
Saw a kid there by the road
Long blond dirty hair
His thumb out in the air
That was me
That was me

That was me

Overall Meaning

The song "That Was Me" by Todd Snider depicts the life of a person who has been through a lot of struggles and failures in his life. The lyrics talk about the different moments in his life, and how the people he has interacted with failed to see the person he really was. The first verse is about a time when the persona was hitchhiking down the highway, seeking help from strangers to no avail. He remembers a time when he was trying to get a job but got rejected, and this is depicted in the second verse. The third verse highlights the struggles of being a musician and how the persona had to depend on the kindness of strangers to get by. The chorus repeats the first verse, emphasizing how the persona's struggles have been ongoing.

The lyrics are significant because they highlight the struggles that people go through every day, the ones that we usually don't see. Todd Snider is reminding us to be kind and charitable to others. The song is also personal because Todd Snider himself had a difficult upbringing and lived a life filled with experiences not too different from the persona in the song.

Line by Line Meaning

Remember back about five years ago
Reflect on a time from five years ago

Drivin' down the highway
Traveling on the highway

Saw a kid there by the road
Saw a young person on the side of the road

Long blond dirty hair
Messy, blonde hair

His thumb out in the air
Hitchhiking with his thumb up

That was me
I was that person

Remember the kid that walked into your store
Recall a young person who entered your store

The one you told you were sorry,
The one you apologized to,

You weren't hiring anymore
You couldn't offer them a job

So he walked out your door
They left your store

His head hung toward the floor
Feeling dejected and disheartened