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.
I Had Lost My Mind
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I lost my head for a while was off my rocker outta line, outta wack.
See I had this tiny crack in my head
That slowly split open and my brain snoozed out,
Lyin' on the sidewalk and I didn't even know it.
I had lost my mind.
Why, i was sitting in the basement when I first realized it was gone.
I said "pardon me but I seem to have lost my mind."
She said "Well can you identify it please?"
I said "Why sure its a cute little bugger
About yea big a little warped from the rain"
She said "Well then sir this must be your brain"
I said "Thank you ma'am I'm always losin' that dang thing."
I had lost my mind.
The lyrics to Daniel Johnston's song "I Had Lost My Mind" reflect an individual's realization of their mental state, as they become aware that their mind is no longer functioning normally. The opening verse immediately establishes the singer's mental deterioration, with the repeated phrase "I had lost my mind" emphasizing the gravity of the situation. The following lines describe the singer's experience of being "off [their] rocker" and "outta line," as well as the physical manifestation of their mental breakdown as a "tiny crack in [their] head." This image of the mind as something that can fracture and leak out onto the sidewalk is both vivid and unsettling.
The second verse takes on a more surreal tone, as the singer seeks to locate their lost mind at the "lost and found." This ironic reversal suggests that the mind is something that can be misplaced in the same way as a lost item. The dialogue between the singer and the attendant at the lost and found, as they attempt to identify the lost mind, is absurd and comical, underlining the song's satirical edge. The final repetition of the phrase "I had lost my mind" serves as a haunting refrain, emphasizing the permanence of the singer's damaged mental state.
Overall, the lyrics to "I Had Lost My Mind" are a poignant and humorous portrayal of the fragility of mental health, as well as a commentary on society's tendency to dismiss or trivialize mental illness.
Line by Line Meaning
I had lost my mind.
I lost my sanity and rational thinking abilities.
I lost my head for a while was off my rocker outta line, outta wack.
I was behaving erratically and inappropriately for a period of time.
See I had this tiny crack in my head
I had some sort of damage or injury to my brain.
That slowly split open and my brain snoozed out,
The damage to my brain became more severe and affected my cognitive abilities.
Lyin' on the sidewalk and I didn't even know it.
I was unaware of my deteriorating mental state and the extent of the damage to my brain.
I had lost my mind.
I had completely lost my grip on reality and was struggling to function normally.
Why, i was sitting in the basement when I first realized it was gone.
I became aware of my mental health issues while alone in my basement.
Got I my car rushed right over to the lost and found.
I went to seek help and recover my lost sanity.
I said "pardon me but I seem to have lost my mind."
I expressed my confusion and desperation for help.
She said "Well can you identify it please?"
The person helping me asked for more specific details about my mental state.
I said "Why sure its a cute little bugger about yea big a little warped from the rain"
I tried to describe my lost sanity and make light of the situation.
She said "Well then sir this must be your brain"
The person helping me identified that my brain was the root of my mental health issues.
I said "Thank you ma'am I'm always losin' that dang thing."
I expressed gratitude for finding my lost sanity and humorously dismissed the severity of the situation.
Contributed by Bentley V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@fernnn2881
i had lost my mind
i lost my head for a while, was off my rocker, outta line, outta wack
see, i had this tiny crack in my head
that slowly split open and my brain snoozed out
lyin' on the sidewalk and i didn't even know it
i had lost my mind
why, i was sitting in the basement when i first realized it was gone
got in my car, rushed right over to the lost and found
i said "pardon me, but i seem to have lost my mind."
she said "Well, can you identify it, please?"
i said "why sure it's a cute little bugger
about yea big, a little warped from the rain"
she said "well then sir, this must be your brain"
i said "thank you ma'am, i'm always losin' that dang thing."
i had lost my mind
@JamieRambles
I love the telephone skit at the start "okay. How're you?" "Okay"
@deanace777
my friend lost his mind once. he was a very talented guy. great guitar player, singer, songwriter. one day he was completely incoherent, mumbling unintelligently. then one day he was back...it happens
@jbeckmann6145
thank you ma'am I'm always losing that dang thing..
@matthewlesch2056
RIP Danny, forever in our hearts.
@blakestormcrow6275
Didn't realise he had died until today 😭
@closer71
He died???
@wesleyalan9179
💜
@wesleyalan9179
@@closer71
Yes,our lord and savior Dan Johnston has been gone for a while now, may he Rest In Peace 💜 🙏
@mattleparu
this man is a fuckin treasure
@thiagosk8lavras
My Favourite one! Rest In Peace Daniel Johnston!!!