Jim Koenigsberger
@Jimfrombaseball
Jan 24
"We went up to Santa Fe to have some fun. On this night we closed down this bar and it was like three in the morning and nobody was on the street but us. No cars, no nobody and there was this guy. This was a bedraggled guy, not a kid. A homeless guy, kind of crazy looking with a harmonica around his neck, his hat on the ground in front of him and nothing in the hat. I don’t think he was drunk, but he was impaired in some way that had him standing on the street alone, singing “Mr. Bojangles." There was no chance of anyone coming by. Me and Jerry Jeff heard the music and we went to go find it, 'cause we could tell it was his song and when we found him. It was almost surreal. The guy looked up at us without recognition. He didn't know Jerry Jeff was standing there. He may never have heard of Jerry Jeff Walker. We stood there and we watched this guy sing this song and I felt like one of us was gonna tear up. We didn’t, but you could feel it. It was palpable. Jerry Jeff and I stood there and watched this guy sing “Mr. Bojangles” in front of a closed-down old blues bar, and I could feel us both getting choked up. And I was asking myself, ‘Should I tell this guy that he’s playing Jerry Jeff’s song, and that Jerry Jeff is standing right here?’ “But, no, I figured that if Jerry Jeff wanted to let this guy know who he was, he’d tell him. Jerry Jeff chose not to. When the song was over, Jerry Jeff said, ‘That sounded great,’ and then he put a f***load of cash—every bit of cash he had on him—into that guy’s hat. And then we walked off to the hotel, and I just couldn’t leave the moment alone. ‘Maybe the highlight of my life,’ I said. ‘Boring life so far, kid.’ ” Todd Snider Legends!!!!

Jan 24, 2026 · 1:43 PM UTC

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“Let’er go” one of my favorites..
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Between Hank Williams pain songs and Jerry Jeff's train songs and Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain out in Luckenbach Texas there ain't nobody feeling no pain Beautiful story, and like Neil Diamond wrote Gone Too Soon.
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Jerry Jeff was the guy Jimmy Buffett pretended to be, and I mean no slight to JB. It was Jerry who took Jimmy to Key West for the first time. JJW taught him a lot. JB was a helluva marketer on his own, though. Both were very good songwriters, so all the talent was already there.
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Every time he came to NYC I went to see him. One night after a show at the Lone Star Cafe, I was at the bar having a beer with him, he invited me to hit the old haunts with he and the band, where he used to play and hang out. Always a good time.
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I had an opportunity to meet/talk him twice. First was @txst @TheWitliff the second was @GrueneHallTX A great guy and so genuine thewittliffcollections.txst.…
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Loved him and glad I got to see him once in Beaumont, TX. When asked what's the saddest song, I say Mr. Bojangles when hearing Jerry Jeff sing it. It plays out like a movie to me, picturing an old man and his dog with nothing but his tips for alcohol. One album which every song is excellent is this one.
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Great Story. I do wish Todd would have taken a little better care of himself, though.
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Jerry Jeff Walker is one of the all time greats ans has always been one of mu favorites. Maybe not a superstar among the public but when you hear other singers/songwriters talk about him, you the man was a legend. RIP LEGEND!
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Todd was a unique soul. Thank you for sharing this.
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1990 Used to pay him $300 to sing and play at our cocktail parties That's how down on his luck he was then
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Saw him more than 20x live. Took some Chicago colleagues to see him at HoB. Later that year, my head trader blew me away with a Secret Santa gift of a signed “Gypsy Songman”. JJW personally went the extra mile to make it happen. Book was out of print. Underrated kindness.
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Hey Buckaroos Loved this story. Sitting in my home office looking at my Jerry Jeff concert poster for his show at Wente Winery in Carmel California. Might be my favorite JJW concert. I seen him over dozen times in 3 different states from the late 70's on.
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I got to hear Jerry Jeff live in a dive bar in San Diego. He will forever be one of my favorites……
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I first heard Jerry Jeff Walker at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in maybe 1974 in DC. Loved him from then on.
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Miss m all. Thx for posting
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This is cool. Loved Snider. Never got to see him. Saw JJW a handful and most of them in dive bars. Ironically, I just ordered replacement stickers. Can't remember the last time at least one vehicle hasn't had one.
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THANKS. what a great story. I love this song too.
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RIP, Todd and Jackie Jack.
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My favorite version of that song was performed live on WBAI with Bob Fass. It was so long and so vivid. The station played it until the record company threatened legal action and they had to stop. I often wonder if anybody has a dub of that long ago masterpiece.
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It’s A Good Night For Singing
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You find the best stories!
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Loved his music.
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Hung with him a couple times. I've got something very special from him, that I keep in my closet. Always loved these lyrics from Little Bird. Picture of my face, reflected on the pane, Is it tears I see, or is it rain...
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I’ll catch me one last sunset, ‘cross the prairie.
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Great story, Jerry Jeff is truly missed !
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Worked at TGIF in Indy way way back and we used to do cleanup to Jerry Jeff Walker and Whalen and Willie. Long long shifts but still singing along. (this was 50 yrs ago)
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Saw him perform at Gruene Hall, Broken Spoke and the Paramount. Legend!
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I was today years old when I learned that Jerry Jeff Walker wrote Mr. Bojangles
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Wow ❤️❤️❤️
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One of Snider’s best stories!
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We’re losing a lot of great songwriters. Isbell and Sturgill stepping up some but many lack that storytelling ability. Imo.
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