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.
Cathy Cline
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was forever your man
We always had a real good time
Oh, Cathy Cline
You were a princess from above
Our hearts were filled with love
We always had a real good time
I saw you in the town of Abilene
You were the prettiest girl I ever seen
I told you about Laurie Allen
Cathy Cline
The lyrics of Daniel Johnston's "Cathy Cline" are about a love that once was, a love that was real and had good times together, but is now gone. The song is an ode to Cathy Cline, who was his girl and he was her man. They were in love and always had a real good time together, but unfortunately, their love didn't last forever.
The second verse talks about how Cathy Cline was a princess from above and their hearts were filled with love. They had a good time together, but now it's just a distant memory. The third verse talks about how Johnston saw Cathy Cline in the town of Abilene and she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He told her about Laurie Allen, which could have been a reference to a friend or ex-girlfriend, but it's unclear.
The song is a bittersweet reflection on a relationship that didn't work out, but the memories of the good times they had together still linger. Johnston's raw and sincere delivery of the lyrics adds to the emotional weight of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
You were forever my girl
You were the one I loved unconditionally and forever.
I was forever your man
I was the one who loved you unconditionally and forever.
We always had a real good time
We always enjoyed spending time together.
Oh, Cathy Cline
You were always on my mind and I loved you deeply.
You were a princess from above
You were a beautiful and precious person, almost like royalty.
Our hearts were filled with love
We both deeply loved each other.
I saw you in the town of Abilene
I remember the moment I saw you in the town of Abilene.
You were the prettiest girl I ever seen
You were the most beautiful girl I had ever laid my eyes on.
I told you about Laurie Allen
I confided in you and shared a personal story about someone in my life.
Cathy Cline
You, Cathy Cline, were the one I truly loved and cared for.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DANIEL DALE JOHNSTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind