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.
Dream Scream
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna scream about you
I'm having dreams about you
I wanna scream about you
everything you have done
You were the girl
Who seemed to own the world
I took a chance to call you my own
I didn't know a thing about you
thought you could love
What a fool I was
what's going on
I was just singing my song
There's something mad about you
I took it wrong
You like my song
Why couldnt I have you
Crazy dream you done me wrong
You left me long
I couldnt stand to chance without you
you said the love was dead
And in my head
I just couldnt believe it
and on the phone you said
You never knew me at all
thought there was love
What a fool I was
and everything was in hyper-jinx
Just like an old time movie
you don't understand
Can't comprehend
I guess it doesn't really matter
and every dream a nightmare
And nothing really matters
I thought I was Loved
What a fool I was
having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
The lyrics to Daniel Johnston's song "Dream Scream" express the singer's confusion and hurt over a failed relationship. He keeps dreaming about the girl and wants to scream about her, but everything she has done has left him feeling like a fool. She once seemed to have the world in the palm of her hand and he took a chance on her, only to be disappointed by her inability to reciprocate his feelings. In the song, the girl seems to be a mystery to him and he cannot understand what went wrong.
The lyrics suggest that the singer may have falsely believed that the girl loved him in return, leading to his confusion about her sudden rejection. The repeated refrain of "having dreams about you" underscores the idea that he cannot escape his thoughts about her, even though she has moved on. The singer's despair is heightened by the realization that nothing else really matters anymore; all of his dreams have turned into nightmares. Overall, "Dream Scream" is a poignant and deeply personal reflection on heartbreak and the pain of unrequited love.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm having dreams about you
Thinking about you even in my sleep
I wanna scream about you
Feeling so much pain and frustration that I want to shout out loud
everything you have done
Every action and decision you made
You were the girl
The woman who I thought I loved
Who seemed to own the world
Who had everything and everyone under her control
Everything was about you
All attention, focus and importance revolved around you
I took a chance to call you my own
I risked my heart to be in a relationship with you
I didn't know a thing about you
I was clueless about your personality, values and feelings
thought you could love
Believed that you could return my love
What a fool I was
How wrong and naive I was
what's going on
What happened to us
I was just singing my song
I was expressing my feelings and thoughts through music
There's something mad about you
There's something crazy, unpredictable and unstable about you
I took it wrong
I misinterpreted your actions and words
You like my song
You appreciated my music and artistic style
Why couldnt I have you
Why was it so hard to be in a loving and stable relationship with you
Crazy dream you done me wrong
The unrealistic hope and expectation that our love would succeed, only to be disappointed
You left me long
You abandoned me a long time ago
I couldnt stand to chance without you
I couldn't endure the uncertainty and risk of being alone
you said the love was dead
You declared that our love had died
And in my head
In my thoughts and imagination
I just couldnt believe it
I was in disbelief and denial
and on the phone you said
During our conversation
You never knew me at all
You didn't understand, appreciate, or really connect with me as a person
thought there was love
Believed that we had true and sincere love
What a fool I was
How deceived and foolish I was
and everything was in hyper-jinx
Everything seemed to be going wrong and out of control
Just like an old time movie
As if my life was a tragic and melodramatic film
you don't understand
You didn't get me
Can't comprehend
Couldn't understand or grasp the complexity and depth of my emotions
I guess it doesn't really matter
Perhaps it's not worth thinking or worrying about anymore
and every dream a nightmare
Each time I think of you, it's like a terrifying and disturbing dream
And nothing really matters
Nothing seems to have any significance or value anymore
I thought I was Loved
I believed that I had someone who loved me
Having dreams about you
Constantly having thoughts, memories and visions about you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DANIEL DALE JOHNSTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
slint69
I'm having dreams about you
I wanna scream about you
I'm having dreams about you
I wanna scream about you
everything you have done
You were the girl
Who seemed to own the world
Everything was about you
I took a chance to call you my own
I didn't know a thing about you
thought you could love
What a fool I was
what's going on
I was just singing my song
There's something mad about you
I took it wrong
You like my song
Why couldnt I have you
Crazy dream you done me wrong
You left me long
I couldnt stand to chance without you
you said the love was dead
And in my head
I just couldnt believe it
and on the phone you said
You never knew me at all
thought there was love
What a fool I was
and everything was in hyper-jinx
Just like an old time movie
you don't understand
Can't comprehend
I guess it doesn't really matter
and every dream a nightmare
And nothing really matters
I thought I was Loved
What a fool I was
having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Gustavo Alvarez
Thank you Daniel, for everything. No artist has ever reached that sensvity. R.I.P
slint69
I'm having dreams about you
I wanna scream about you
I'm having dreams about you
I wanna scream about you
everything you have done
You were the girl
Who seemed to own the world
Everything was about you
I took a chance to call you my own
I didn't know a thing about you
thought you could love
What a fool I was
what's going on
I was just singing my song
There's something mad about you
I took it wrong
You like my song
Why couldnt I have you
Crazy dream you done me wrong
You left me long
I couldnt stand to chance without you
you said the love was dead
And in my head
I just couldnt believe it
and on the phone you said
You never knew me at all
thought there was love
What a fool I was
and everything was in hyper-jinx
Just like an old time movie
you don't understand
Can't comprehend
I guess it doesn't really matter
and every dream a nightmare
And nothing really matters
I thought I was Loved
What a fool I was
having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
nina k
this gave me the chills...Beautiful doesn't begin to cover it. Thank you Daniel.
Levanccio Ellia
grande daniel que descanses en paz
Jed Gallego
This makes me sad and I love it
ANDY KING
one of the best, by one of the best ...love your work x
John Avy
The thing about a great artist is sincerely.Daniel was sincere and I think that’s what made him so great.He did it for the right reasons
Roizel Diez
This one hits extra hard and weird, but good. Is this how our dreams sounds like?
Benji Gault
the last minute of this song is absolutely beautiful, reminds me of "fool in the rain" by led zeppelin....
Jay
had this on vinyl. killer trk.