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.
Softly and Tenderly
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Calling for you and for me
See, on the portals he's waiting and watching
Watching for you and for me
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary come home
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Why should we tary when Jesus is pleading
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies
Mercies for you and for me?
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary come home
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing
Passing from you and from me
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming
Coming for you and for me
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary come home
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Calling, O sinner, come home!
O for the wonderful love he has promised
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon
Pardon for you and for me
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary come home
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Calling, O sinner, come home!
The song "Softly and Tenderly" is a hymn that talks about Jesus Christ calling for the sinners to come home. The lyrics are simple yet powerful, inviting people to come back to God and receive his love and mercy. The song speaks of how Jesus is waiting and watching on the portals, urging the weary and burdened to return to him. The repetition of the line "come home, come home, ye who are weary, come home" emphasizes the call and the urgency of the message.
The lyrics also address the hesitation of the sinners to return to God, asking why they should tarry when Jesus is pleading for them to come back. The song also reminds its listeners that time is fleeting, and the moment to come back to God is now. The shadows are gathering, and deathbeds are coming, emphasizing that there is no time to waste in answering Jesus' call.
Overall, the song "Softly and Tenderly" is a beautiful hymn that invites people to come back to God and receive his mercy and love. It is a reminder that no matter how much we have sinned, God is always waiting for us with open arms, ready to forgive us and welcome us back into his embrace.
Line by Line Meaning
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling
Gently and with kindness, Jesus is summoning
Calling for you and for me
Inviting both you and me
See, on the portals he's waiting and watching
Observe how patiently he waits and observes from the entrance
Watching for you and for me
Remaining vigilant for both of us
Come home, come home
Return to a place where you're loved unconditionally
Ye who are weary come home
Those enduring exhaustion and hardships, come home
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Sincerely and affectionately, Jesus beckons
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Asking sinners to come back to him
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading
Why stay when Jesus is beseeching us to leave
Pleading for you and for me?
Asking fervently for both you and me
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies
Why wait and ignore his acts of kindness
Mercies for you and for me?
Compassion open to both you and me
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing
Momentarily, time is escaping us
Passing from you and from me
Slipping away from both you and me
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming
Darkness looms with death's approach
Coming for you and for me
Approaching both you and me
O for the wonderful love he has promised
Oh, the superb love he has guaranteed
Promised for you and for me!
Pledged to both you and me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon
Despite our transgressions, he has compassion and forgiveness
Pardon for you and for me
Clemency for both you and me
Come home, come home
Return to a place where you're loved unconditionally
Ye who are weary come home
Those enduring exhaustion and hardships, come home
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Sincerely and affectionately, Jesus beckons
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Asking sinners to come back to him
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Bluewater Music Corp., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Will L. Thompson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Roiy Benkel
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling
Calling for you and for me
See, on the portals he's waiting and watching
Watching for you and for me
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary come home
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Calling, o sinner, come home
Why should we tary when Jesus is pleading
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies
Mercies for you and for me?
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing
Passing from you and from me
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming
Coming for you and for me
O for the wonderful love he has promised
Promised for you and for me
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon
Pardon for you and for me
Roiy Benkel
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling
Calling for you and for me
See, on the portals he's waiting and watching
Watching for you and for me
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary come home
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Calling, o sinner, come home
Why should we tary when Jesus is pleading
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies
Mercies for you and for me?
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing
Passing from you and from me
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming
Coming for you and for me
O for the wonderful love he has promised
Promised for you and for me
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon
Pardon for you and for me
themaceface
And he finally got his chance to see his Lord and Savior.
RIP Daniel, you will be missed dearly.
Until we meet again.
Alejandro Skalany
Absolute perfect end for this album
R S
1990 is one of the great American records and ending it in this way is why its so special
Ghostmotorfinger
I'm forever thankful God created Daniel Johnston. See you in Paradise man...
Chris Mullen
I agree. I especially love the little things like the baby crying in the background.
MCMLXXXIX
I wonder what's the story behind this recording. What church is it at? What sort of mass is it? Why did Daniel want to tape it? So many questions!!
Lupi Goder
+MCMLXXXIX And, why Daniel starts singing the first? Is he the choir director?
happycyclings
probably an overdub?
Leslie O'Laoghaire
His family were members of the Church of Christ.