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.
Party
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't wanna waste you
Just kind of like a show
When you may find yourself alone with the
Suicide rock ‘n' roll
We all stand amazed
And often gaze at
But you may take them all away
As you stare into the mirror
Sayin' hey, what does it mean
To live in this world
When we're all so very crazy
And maybe
There's plenty of time to party
Party
Party
Everyone sues and sings the blues
While deep inside our minds
God keeps us happy with
A little bit of love
To comprehend as the road bends
Showin' us life anew
Some may say it's the same as any day
But who the heck are you?
Sayin' hey, what does it mean
To live in this world
When we're all so very crazy
And maybe
There's plenty of time to party
Party
Party
A silly dream and after thought
Plenty of those you got
But when you find yourself In the rain
There's no reason to complain
Up in the morning, with the sunshine
As the drama unfolds
And you may find yourself alone with the
Magic radio
Singin' hey, what does it mean
To live in this world
When we're all so very crazy
And maybe
There's plenty of time to party
Party
Party
There's nothing left of your depression
As long as you're entertained
Sometimes it's best just to lose
Than to play the same old sorry game
Love is alive in all of you
And never will decay
Another day or so, they say
May all your dreams come true
Singin' hey, what does it mean
To live in this world
When we're all so very crazy
And maybe
There's plenty of time to party
Party, party, party, party, party, party, party
Party, party, party, party, party, party, party
Thank you
The lyrics to Daniel Johnston's "Party" could be interpreted as a reflection on the nature of life and the need to make the most of it. The song starts off with the singer expressing that he doesn't want to frighten or bore the listener, but rather entertain them with a show consisting of "Suicide rock 'n' roll." He doesn't want to waste anyone's time with negativity or monotonous routine.
The second verse talks about the amazement and love that we have for those who are important to us. However, in a moment of introspection, the singer considers the fragility of existence and notes that everyone is a little crazy. Despite this, there is still a lot of time to party and enjoy life. The repetition of "Party, party" throughout the song reinforces this message.
The song then goes on to mention the importance of love and understanding. Life can be tricky and unpredictable, but it's easier to face it with a little bit of love, whether it be from another person or a higher power. Towards the end, the singer tells the listener that there is nothing left of their depression as long as they are entertained, and encourages them to live in the moment and enjoy life.
Overall, the lyrics to "Party" may seem simplistic or even naive at first glance, but when looked at closely, they have a deeper message about life and the importance of living it to the fullest.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't wanna scare you
I don't want to frighten you
Don't wanna waste you
I don't want to squander your time
Just kind of like a show
It's sort of like a performance
When you may find yourself alone with the
When you might be by yourself with
Suicide rock ‘n' roll
Dangerous rock music that can make you feel hopeless
We all stand amazed
We're all impressed
And often gaze at
And frequently stare at
Those we love so true
The people we love very much
But you may take them all away
But you might lose them all
As you stare into the mirror
When you look at yourself in the mirror
Sayin' hey, what does it mean
Asking oneself what it all signifies
To live in this world
To exist in this world
When we're all so very crazy
When we're all pretty insane
And maybe
Perhaps
There's plenty of time to party
There's a lot of time to celebrate
Party
Party
Everyone sues and sings the blues
Everyone brings lawsuits and sings sad songs
While deep inside our minds
While deep within our thoughts
God keeps us happy with
God keeps us content with
A little bit of love
A small amount of affection
To comprehend as the road bends
To comprehend as the road twists
Showin' us life anew
Revealing a new perspective on life
Some may say it's the same as any day
Some may argue it's like any other day
But who the heck are you?
But who are you to judge?
A silly dream and after thought
A foolish dream and an afterthought
Plenty of those you got
You have a lot of those
But when you find yourself In the rain
But when you find yourself in the rain
There's no reason to complain
There's no reason to grumble
Up in the morning, with the sunshine
Waking up in the morning, with sunlight
As the drama unfolds
As the drama plays out
And you may find yourself alone with the
And you might find yourself all by yourself with the
Magic radio
Magical radio
Singin' hey, what does it mean
Singing hey, what does it mean
There's nothing left of your depression
Your depression is gone
As long as you're entertained
As long as you're having fun
Sometimes it's best just to lose
Sometimes it's better to lose than to keep playing the same game
Than to play the same old sorry game
Than to keep playing the same sad game
Love is alive in all of you
Love is present in all of you
And never will decay
And will never decompose or weaken
Another day or so, they say
Another day or so, as they say
May all your dreams come true
May all of your dreams be realized
Party, party, party, party, party, party, party
Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate, celebrate, celebrate, celebrate, celebrate
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DANIEL DALE JOHNSTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind