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.
Girl of My Dreams
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the ground and soon to be forgotten
We had it all for about a long time
But the long time is far gone
And the yesterdays have all faded away
Yes, the yesterdays have all faded away
I kissed you on that Holy Night
You seemed to like it
You said there'd be trouble
I really did love you
Only because
You were the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
I had you in there in eternity
Just you and me just like it was
I know for sure you really did love me
But then again, you acted bothered
She had a split personality
She loved me, and she hated me
Must be some sort of mysterious love affair
The monster and the girl
Then one night when it was really over
I told her that I really loved her
She acted surprised and said
“That's all right”
She was the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
And all along you knew my secret
I was after love and pretty much desperate
I kissed you once, and I was changed for life
It was paradise, yes, and that's what I like
You were my love
Somewhat
If only I could touch
But once again, I remind you
My love was strong, and only for you
My only wish is that you love me true
You really must get in touch with me soon
You were my Virgin Queen of Rock ‘N' Roll
You were the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
The lyrics to Daniel Johnston’s “Girl of My Dreams” exude a sense of nostalgia and longing for a love that has since passed. The first stanza speaks to the inevitable fleeting nature of memories, likening them to leaves falling on the ground that will soon be forgotten. The following lines indicate that the singer and his past love once had it all, however, “the long time is far gone.” The chorus reflects on the fact that the yesterdays have all faded away, indicating a sense of regret or wistfulness for the past.
The second verse appears to be an ode to a past love, who the singer refers to as the “girl of my dreams.” He recalls a time when he kissed her on a “Holy Night” and she responded positively, however, with a warning that there would be trouble. Despite this, the singer loved her and identifies her as someone who made an indelible impression on him. The third verse seems to describe a tumultuous or complicated relationship with this person, who “had a split personality” and who he describes as a “monster and a girl.” Despite this conflicted nature, the singer declares that he loves her.
Overall, the lyrics to “Girl of My Dreams” are reflections on past love and longing for someone who has moved on. The singer recalls a time when he was with the girl of his dreams, but now the memories have faded away. In spite of the painful nature of love, he still yearns for her to love him back.
Line by Line Meaning
Memories like leaves are fallin'
Memories are fading away just like leaves falling from tree that soon to be forgotten.
On the ground and soon to be forgotten
Memories are losing its charm and soon to be forgotten completely like leaves that fall on the ground.
We had it all for about a long time
We enjoyed a good relationship for a long time.
But the long time is far gone
The happiness we shared for a long time is now gone.
And the yesterdays have all faded away
All our happy moments we spent together are now a thing of the past and have faded with time.
Yes, the yesterdays have all faded away
The memories of past have vanished with time.
I kissed you on that Holy Night
On that special night, I expressed my love by kissing you.
You seemed to like it
You reciprocated my love by accepting my kiss.
You said there'd be trouble
You warned me that it would be difficult to sustain our love relationship.
I really did love you
My love for you was genuine and intense.
Only because
The reason I loved you so much was that you were the girl of my dreams.
You were the girl of my dreams
You were the one I had always dreamt of and loved so much.
Seems like not so long ago
It seems like it was just yesterday when we were together.
I had you in there in eternity
I thought our love would last forever as it was strong and eternal.
Just you and me just like it was
We had a perfect love relationship with no distractions or external forces.
I know for sure you really did love me
I was confident that you loved me with all your heart.
But then again, you acted bothered
At times, you acted as if something was bothering and troubling you.
She had a split personality
You had a double personality - sometimes loving and sometimes hateful towards me.
She loved me, and she hated me
Your feelings towards me were confusing, and you had different emotions and feelings towards me.
Must be some sort of mysterious love affair
Our love affair was mysterious and difficult to understand.
The monster and the girl
Our relationship was like a monster and a girl in love with each other.
Then one night when it was really over
Our relationship finally ended one night as there was no scope to sustain it anymore.
I told her that I really loved her
I expressed my true feelings of love towards you that night when it was over.
She acted surprised and said “That's all right”
You were surprised at my confession of love and responded that it's alright.
You were my love, somewhat
You were the love of my life to some extent.
If only I could touch
I wished to hold you and touch you one more time.
But once again, I remind you
I remind you again with all my heart.
My love was strong, and only for you
My love for you was powerful and only meant for you.
My only wish is that you love me true
My only desire was that you love me with all your heart and soul.
You really must get in touch with me soon
I still cherish the memories we shared, and you must get in touch with me soon.
You were my Virgin Queen of Rock ‘N' Roll
You were my first love, and only love, and I cherished every moment we spent together.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBERT AUGUSTA JOHNSON, SAM RAY MOSLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tulio Pariz
Girl of My Dreams
Daniel Johnston
Memories like leaves are fallin'
On the ground and soon to be forgotten
We had it all for about a long time
But the long time is far gone
And the yesterdays have all faded away
Yes, the yesterdays have all faded away
Seems like not so long ago
I kissed you on that Holy Night
You seemed to like it
You said there'd be trouble
I really did love you
Only because
You were the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
I had you in there in eternity
Just you and me just like it was
I know for sure you really did love me
But then again, you acted bothered
She had a split personality
She loved me, and she hated me
Must be some sort of mysterious love affair
The monster and the girl
Then one night when it was really over
I told her that I really loved her
She acted surprised and said
“That's all right”
She was the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
And all along you knew my secret
I was after love and pretty much desperate
I kissed you once, and I was changed for life
It was paradise, yes, and that's what I like
You were my love
Somewhat
If only I could touch
But once again, I remind you
My love was strong, and only for you
My only wish is that you love me true
You really must get in touch with me soon
You were my Virgin Queen of Rock ‘N' Roll
You were the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
KAWAII YUKI CHAN
you can really hear the emotion in his voice its so beautiful.
Tulio Pariz
Girl of My Dreams
Daniel Johnston
Memories like leaves are fallin'
On the ground and soon to be forgotten
We had it all for about a long time
But the long time is far gone
And the yesterdays have all faded away
Yes, the yesterdays have all faded away
Seems like not so long ago
I kissed you on that Holy Night
You seemed to like it
You said there'd be trouble
I really did love you
Only because
You were the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
I had you in there in eternity
Just you and me just like it was
I know for sure you really did love me
But then again, you acted bothered
She had a split personality
She loved me, and she hated me
Must be some sort of mysterious love affair
The monster and the girl
Then one night when it was really over
I told her that I really loved her
She acted surprised and said
“That's all right”
She was the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
And all along you knew my secret
I was after love and pretty much desperate
I kissed you once, and I was changed for life
It was paradise, yes, and that's what I like
You were my love
Somewhat
If only I could touch
But once again, I remind you
My love was strong, and only for you
My only wish is that you love me true
You really must get in touch with me soon
You were my Virgin Queen of Rock ‘N' Roll
You were the girl of my dreams
Girl of my dreams
TunaULove
accidentally found Daniel Johnston. Now he's my new obsession. beautiful.
Olga Kim
Seven years later I have done the same. Now I can't stop listening to him. I love you, Daniel, wherever you are.
Hi, how are you
same! hell look at my username and pic lmao
conallxd
@Hi, how are you i have that album cover tattooed on my wrist!
Sue Sutton
I really like this guy - unique voice - only discovered him tonight
Frontier Psychiatrist
RIP
Nothing speaks like the truth, if it can stay in tune all the better. He accomplished this & more.. rest well, good prince
Gustavo Padrón-Rivera
Tuve la oportunidad de verlo en Xalapa, México; hace años, pero él ya estaba muy viejito y era muy difícil que cantara bien, pero aún así lo intentó.
David Hunt
Three minutes in and I just relized im going to have this on repeat all night.