Johnston spent extended periods in psychiatric institutions and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He gathered a local following in the 1980s by passing out tapes of his music while working at a McDonald's in Austin, Texas. His cult status was propelled when Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was seen wearing a T-shirt that featured artwork from Johnston's 1983 album Hi, How Are You. In 2005, Johnston was the subject of the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
His songs were typically painfully direct, and often display a disturbing blend of childlike naïvete with darker, "spooky" themes. Johnston's singing voice is rather high-pitched, and his performances often seem faltering or uncertain; pitchfork writes that Johnston's recordings range from "spotty to brilliant". He also draws and paints; he is a cult comic book artist and his illustrations have been featured with most of his albums.
Johnston was born in Sacramento, California and grew up in West Virginia, United States, but then moved to Waller, Texas. Johnston suffers from manic depression, and has had varying luck with different treatments. He has been institutionalized for periods.
In the late 1970s, Johnston began recording his songs on a $59 Sony Boombox, singing and playing either guitar, piano or harmonica. He gave tapes of his music to anyone who would take them. Johnston created the comic book inspired art that usually accompanied his own recordings. His debut recording Songs of Pain was released in 1981.
His early songs established a number of themes that would persist through Johnston's career: Unrequited love, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and comic book superheroes, especially Captain America and Jack Kirby's other works. "Joe"—a partly autobiographical character—has been featured in a number of songs. Johnston has cited The Beatles as a prime influence.
A sizable proportion of Johnston's songs throughout the years have dealt with his unrequited love for "Laurie," a girl he became friends with in college, who was the first to encourage him to record his music. The Laurie character quickly assumed the role of the idealized female muse. The real life Laurie Allen married an undertaker, prompting Johnston to write lyrics in which the Laurie figure becomes strongly associated with the imagery of death in addition to her original role as a muse. For example, the song Funeral Home in which Johnston sings that he's "going to a funeral home" represents both the foreknowledge of death and Johnston's desire to be reunited with Laurie, who at the time worked at a funeral home. Laurie Allen has since divorced and filmmaker Jeff Feuerzeig arranged a meeting between Allen and Johnston.
Johnston gained a cult following in Austin, Texas. Some regarded Johnston as little more than a quaint curiosity, but others recognized a genuine talent: Johnston has a knack for creating great, catchy melodies, while his lyrics are evocative and often use clever wordplay. His songs have been covered by a number of admirers.
A 1985 MTV special on Austin brought Johnston wider attention, and a number of record stores outside Texas began selling his cassettes.
His music has been acclaimed by David Bowie, Sonic Youth, and Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana fame praised Johnston's work, and often wore a t-shirt with a Johnston illustration and a caption reading, "Hi How Are You?"
1994 saw the release of Fun on Atlantic Records. The record was produced by Paul Leary of Butthole Surfers, a group who had long supported Johnston, even inviting him to open a number of concerts for them.
In 1993, Johnston painted a mural of the "Hi, How Are You?" frog, also known as Jeremiah after the Three Dog Night song, on the side of the Austin Sound Exchange music store. The site was converted into a Baja Fresh franchise in 2004. Although initial plans called for the mural to be torn down, public outcry caused restaurant owner John Oudt to let the mural stay, at a price of $50,000 in additional costs and lost revenue.
Fun was Johnston's only major-label release, but he has continued writing and recording songs, as well as drawing pictures.
In September 2004, a 2-disc release compilation entitled The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered. Disc one featured covers of Johnston's songs by such prominent artists as Eels, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Tom Waits, The Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes, and TV on the Radio, among others. Disc 2 featured Johnston's original tracks.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005) is a documentary by Jeff Feuerzeig about Johnston's life and music, and won the Director's Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
In August 2005, it was reported that Johnston had been experiencing mood swings requiring medical attention. This led to cancellation of his touring schedule. On November 25th, 2005, Johnston was hospitalized for what appeared to be Lithium poisioning (Johnston takes lithium to control his manic depression). His father had found him in an incoherent state and unable to walk. Johnston is recovering and is thought to be out of any immediate danger.
On December 8th, 2005, it was reported that his condition remained "very serious", but on December 23rd, Johnston was released from the hospital. Johnston's family had been told that "Daniel would require long-term medical care and permanent dialysis for kidney failure," however his health dramatically and unexpectedly improved. Johnston died on September 10, 2019.
Casper The Friendly Ghost
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dropped his last dime in a wishing well
But he was hoping to close and then he fell
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
He was always polite to the people who'd tell him
That he was nothing but a lazy bum, but
Goodbye to them he had to go
Nobody treated him nice while he was alive
You can't buy no respect like the librarian said, but
Everybody respects the dead, they
Love a friendly ghost
And now they say we'll never forget what he learned
As we were mean to him but he never burned
Just singing, "love lives forever!"
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
The lyrics to Daniel Johnston's song Casper the Friendly Ghost tell the story of a man who was always treated poorly during his lifetime. He was in personal hell, dropping his last dime in a wishing well hoping for a better life, but instead he fell and died. In death, he's transformed into Casper the Friendly Ghost, a benevolent spirit who is always polite and friendly to people. Nobody treated him with kindness while he was alive. He was often told by people that he was a lazy bum, and he had to go away from them. But now, he's a friendly ghost, a ghost that everyone respects, and nobody forgets what he learned. He sings about the love that lives forever.
Line by Line Meaning
He was smiling through his own personal hell
Despite facing severe hardships, he maintained a positive outlook
Dropped his last dime in a wishing well
He wished for a better life, even though he had no money left
But he was hoping to close and then he fell
Despite having hopes for a better future, he fell into an unfortunate circumstance
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
After passing away, he became a friendly ghost
He was always polite to the people who'd tell him
He was respectful to those who criticized him
That he was nothing but a lazy bum, but
People often dismissed him as lazy and unproductive
Goodbye to them he had to go
He had to distance himself from those who didn't believe in him
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
After passing away, he became a friendly ghost
Nobody treated him nice while he was alive
While he was alive, he didn't receive any kindness from others
You can't buy no respect like the librarian said, but
As the librarian stated, respect can't be bought
Everybody respects the dead, they
After he died, he gained the respect that he deserved
Love a friendly ghost
People tend to appreciate a friendly ghost
And now they say we'll never forget what he learned
People will remember the lessons he taught through his life experiences
As we were mean to him but he never burned
Despite being treated poorly, he never let the negativity get to him
Just singing, "love lives forever!"
In his afterlife, he still spreads a message of love and positivity
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Gratefulness for the friendly ghost who still inspires and teaches even after his time on earth
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Gratefulness for the friendly ghost who still inspires and teaches even after his time on earth
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DANIEL JOHNSTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alwayssomewhattired
He was smiling through his own personal hell
Dropped his last dime in a wishing well
But he was hoping to close and then he fell
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
He was always polite to the people who'd tell him
That he was nothing but a lazy bum, but
Goodbye to them he had to go
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
Nobody treated him nice while he was alive
You can't buy no respect like the librarian said, but
Everybody respects the dead, they
Love a friendly ghost
And now they say we'll never forget what he learned
As we were mean to him but he never burned
Just singing, "love lives forever!"
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
@jamestdonleyiii1608
He was smiling through his own personal hell
Dropped his last dime in a wishing well
But he was hoping too close and then he fell
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
Nobody treated him nice while he was alive
You can't buy no respect like the librarian said
But everybody respects the dead
They love the Friendly Ghost
And now they say
We'll never forget what he learned us
We were mean to him but he never burned us
His love lived forever
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
@alwayssomewhattired
He was smiling through his own personal hell
Dropped his last dime in a wishing well
But he was hoping to close and then he fell
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
He was always polite to the people who'd tell him
That he was nothing but a lazy bum, but
Goodbye to them he had to go
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
Nobody treated him nice while he was alive
You can't buy no respect like the librarian said, but
Everybody respects the dead, they
Love a friendly ghost
And now they say we'll never forget what he learned
As we were mean to him but he never burned
Just singing, "love lives forever!"
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
@jeremiahblum7833
Learned us... burned us
@Ratelzwatel
I hear:
And now they say we'll never forget what he learned us
We were mean to him but he never burned us
His love lives forever
@wsjustice
Did he just create a backstory for Casper? Because that's kind of cool.
@mikebrandonmusic
@@wsjustice l think he was singing about himself
@somerandomweeb1171
He is just singing about himself he thought he turned into Casper on a plane
@julianhermanubis6800
This song hits harder than a skateboard to the head. R.I.P. Daniel.
@twocartier
secret reference 🤨
@ng2603
Watch where you walk, yo
@DarthPhallix
@@ng2603 NOW get in my way, bitch….