Pegasus News - Dallas/Fort Worth

Last night, Todd Snider told a great story about his new song "If Tomorrow Never Comes." The story starts with his song, "Beer Run," which was a minor hit a few years back and got some play on the Bob and Tom Radio show. The next summer, Todd's manager told him that there was a new song called "Beer Run" by Garth Brooks and George Jones with the same hook and chorus, but slightly different lyrics, crediting not Todd, but the writer of the Garth Brooks hit "If Tomorrow Never Comes." (Process of elimination among the common writers of the songs would lead to one Kent Blazy.)

Now Todd, being Todd, asked if this development would prevent him from continuing to watch the baseball game that was currently on TV. As it didn't, he let it go. But then, months later, his manager came back saying that the other "Beer Run" folks were claiming that Todd stole the song from them. "Oh man," said Todd. "I'm gonna have to get dressed up for this, aren't I?"

Now the whole thing eventually got worked out legally speaking, but Todd met the songwriter in question years later at a Nashville event, and the gentleman apparently fessed up to having heard Todd's song at a music festival and then went on to detail the bright lines that allow one to steal from another's song without legally stealing the song.

Todd told him that his next song would be called "If  Tomorrow Never Comes." Unlike the maudlin Brooks ballad, this one is a rave-up and starts with this lyric:

if tomorrow never comes


i wont give a damn


if tomorrow never comes


i will not be afraid to meet my maker


just the way that i am


you cant prove anything


but one thing is true


if you can steal from me


i can steal from you

Reminds me a bit of another situation I read about recently.