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.
Love Forever
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She’s doubting it so, she can’t even smile
She’s thinking about, she don’t even know
She’s hating it so, I can’t let her go
She’s walking away, I cherish the day
We were together, fair was the weather
We were running so fast, the really was no past
I‘m thinking about our yesterday
We were in love forever
I haven’t grown up, it’s been 15 years
I haven’t spoken to her for so long
We had it all before we took a fall
We really have love, though it’s all gone away
There’s nothing to say there’s nothing to do
There’s nowhere to go, there’s nothing to show
There’s nothing to know, it’s all been said
Our love is dead
Our love is dead
It’s over for our love so true
We were in love forever
Though now it’s the end, I’m calling her friend
There’s nothing left of what we were
She’s thinking about, I’m always left out
Nothing really matters much to me
I remember her best, I’m wishing her well
Her private hell is… more or less…
I’m weaving a spell, perhaps she’ll get better
And she’ll be alright, she’ll be alright
We were so happy together
We always thought love was forever
The song Love Forever by Daniel Johnston explores the complex emotions related to falling out of love and moving on. The opening lines of the song reveal that the singer's lover is cheating on him and is unhappy. The singer is aware of this yet still holds on to the love he once shared with her. He thinks of the past and reminiscences about how things used to be. He realizes that his love has died and that it’s time to let go. Even though he hasn't spoken to her in 15 years, he still considers her to be his friend.
The singer uses phrases like "weaving a spell" and "wishing her well" to reveal that he still cares for her and wishes her happiness. Despite the ending of their romance, he holds no ill will towards her. The song's central message is that even though love may die, memories remain. Johnston's tender lyrics and soft guitar melodies create an emotional, almost melancholic atmosphere that beautifully captures the pain of lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
She’s sleeping around, running all over town
She's being promiscuous and going everywhere.
She’s doubting it so, she can’t even smile
She's uncertain and can't express happiness.
She’s thinking about, she don’t even know
She's pondering things without any clear answer in mind.
She’s hating it so, I can’t let her go
She's unhappy, but I won't leave her side.
She’s walking away, I cherish the day
She's leaving me, but I remember the good times we had.
We were together, fair was the weather
We were united, everything was beautiful.
We were running so fast, the really was no past
We didn't even have a chance to look back; we were always moving forward.
I‘m thinking about our yesterday
I'm reminiscing about our past.
We were the best for each other
We were perfect together.
We were in love forever
Our love was to last for eternity.
I haven’t grown up, it’s been 15 years
Even though it's been 15 years, I still haven't matured mentally.
I haven’t spoken to her for so long
I haven't communicated with her in a long time.
We had it all before we took a fall
We had a perfect relationship, but things went wrong.
We really have love, though it’s all gone away
Our love was real, even though it's gone now.
There’s nothing to say there’s nothing to do
There are no words or actions that will change what happened.
There’s nowhere to go, there’s nothing to show
There's no destination or evidence of where we once stood.
There’s nothing to know, it’s all been said
There are no facts to uncover, everything has been explained.
Our love is dead
Our love no longer exists.
Our love is dead
Our love no longer exists.
It’s over for our love so true
Our once true love has ended.
We were in love forever
Our love was meant to be forever.
Though now it’s the end, I’m calling her friend
Even though it's over, I still consider her a friend.
There’s nothing left of what we were
There's nothing remaining of what we once had.
She’s thinking about, I’m always left out
She's concerned with everything but me.
Nothing really matters much to me
I'm indifferent towards everything now.
I remember her best, I’m wishing her well
I have fond memories of her and hope she's doing well.
Her private hell is… more or less…
She's experiencing struggles privately, but it's not for me to say the extent.
I’m weaving a spell, perhaps she’ll get better
I'm keeping her in my thoughts and hoping for the best.
And she’ll be alright, she’ll be alright
I have faith that she will be okay.
We were so happy together
We had so much joy when we were together.
We always thought love was forever
We believed that our love would be everlasting.
Contributed by Sebastian I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.