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.
Tears Stupid Tears
Daniel Johnston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it's gone and it'll never come back
And mine, it's wasted all the time
Tears, stupid tears, bring me down
I got lucky by coincidence
But i got my feelings bent
And my head looking at the ground
Tears, stupid tears, bring me down
Out to the wind that's where my love goes
And it brings me down
Tie my brain into a knot
Those tears, stupid tears, bring me down
I know that i have a friend
He stays with me all day long
He knows and i walk in his shell
I was born in the body and right from the start
Those tears, stupid tears, been tearing us apart
How could i know that's where the wind blows
Out to the wind that's where my love goes
And it brings me down
Tie my brain into a knot
Those tears, stupid tears, bring me down
The opening line of the song, "Time is a matter of fact, and it's gone and it'll never come back," sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The song reflects on the passage of time and how it is often wasted on meaningless activities and emotions such as crying. The line "mine, it's wasted all the time" suggests that the singer recognizes their own tendency to waste time on frivolous things.
The chorus of the song, "tears, stupid tears, bring me down," emphasizes the negative impact that crying has on the singer. Yet, despite this realization, the singer still struggles to control their emotions, as evidenced by the line "tie my brain into a knot." The verse "how could you know that's where the wind blows, out to the wind that's where my love goes, and it brings me down" is open to interpretation, but it could be interpreted as the singer being aware that their emotions are being blown around by the whims of the world, and they can't control their love or emotions.
The final verse of the song brings in a friend who "stays with me all day long" and knows the singer is struggling. The line "I was born in the body and right from the start, those tears, stupid tears, been tearing us apart" is particularly poignant. It suggests that the singer's emotions have a direct impact on their relationship with their friend.
Line by Line Meaning
Time is a matter of fact
Time is an inevitable reality
And it's gone and it'll never come back
Once time has passed, it can never be regained
And mine, it's wasted all the time
The singer feels they have wasted their time
Tears, stupid tears, bring me down
Crying is making the artist sad
I got lucky by coincidence
The artist's good fortune was accidental
But i got my feelings bent
The singer's emotions have been distorted
And my head looking at the ground
The singer's posture suggests sadness
How could you know that's where the wind blows
It was impossible to anticipate the outcome
Out to the wind that's where my love goes
The artist's affection is unattainable
And it brings me down
The artist feels dejected about their love life
Tie my brain into a knot
The singer is experiencing mental distress
I know that i have a friend
The artist is aware of a supportive presence
He stays with me all day long
The supportive presence is always there for the singer
He knows and i walk in his shell
The supportive presence understands the singer's inner self
I was born in the body and right from the start
The singer's physical existence has always been the same
Those tears, stupid tears, been tearing us apart
Crying has had a negative impact on the artist and their supportive presence
How could i know that's where the wind blows
The artist couldn't have predicted the outcome
Out to the wind that's where my love goes
The singer's love is unattainable and drifting away
And it brings me down
The singer feels sad about their love life
Tie my brain into a knot
The artist is experiencing mental turmoil
Those tears, stupid tears, bring me down
Crying is causing the artist to feel sad
Contributed by Gabriel G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
time
time is a matter of fact
and it's gone and it'll never come back
and mine, it's wasted all the time
tears, stupid tears, bring me down
i got lucky by coincidencebut i got my feelings bent
and my head looking at the ground
tears, stupid tears, bring me down
how could you know that's where the wind blows
out to the wind that's where my love goes
and it brings me down
tie my brain into a knot
those tears, stupid tears, bring me down
i know that i have a friend
he stays with me all day long
he knows and i walk in his shell
i was born in the body and right from the start
those tears, stupid tears, been tearing us apart
how could i know that's where the wind blows
out to the wind that's where my love goes
and it brings me down
tie my brain into a knot
those tears, stupid tears, bring me down
Reminds me of a good friend
Clairwil Oh
RIP Daniel. I will never forget you dropping over one afternoon with Heather. She sang for me and her delicate fairy-like voice made me cry. You gave me a shy smile and said "She's my girlfriend." That's when I knew instantly that every single girl was your girlfriend. Like a singing troubadour, like a sad Pierrot, your heart was thrown wide open.
THE LEAFY GARDEN
i thought i was heartless
but this crazy musician pierced my heart immediately
Gunner
Oh the edge is sharp
Jim Taylor
it's raw emotion. the man was mentally unstable. it's raw art. look up his art work if you want, it's brilliant. the man's demon's are laid out and recorded, and it's terrible and beautiful and sad. what you're describing actually is what makes it so special in some cases. it's free even though he is not.
Peter Hornat
So very well stated. Thank you
musley
Ironically I'm glad I discovered him after he passed away. The grief is a bit easier to bear.
Adrian Vanegas
@Thomas Dupont pfff
Red Cabbage
Know what you mean. Although I am sad that I’ll never get to meet him
Thomas Dupont
mdr
MrAndyPee
i'm gutted though tbf