Daniel Johnston’s music found me my senior year of high school, randomly, through the album “Artistic Vice”. I bought it with no knowledge of his “cult status”, or with any awareness of the legends of his mental problems, etc. It was a “curiosity purchase”, based on the cover art and a review I’d read in the magazine Entertainment Weekly, of all places…..They just sounded like great love songs to me, and the “amateurish” quality of the sound and performances could not have been more inspiring, as a semi-competent guitar player looking for a way to reach people despite all of my limitations with musical skill and recording equipment.

It was 10 years before I got a chance to see him live. That finally happened circa 2001-2, in Columbus, OH. By then, of course, I knew of the legends, and had ordered nearly every tape that Stress Records had available, and was proudly a member of the cult, and had spent the previous decade zealously “converting” every friend, girlfriend, and roommate that I could to his music.

He had disappeared shortly before show-time that night, and, knowing what I knew of his history, I was worried that the show might not go on. The opening acts had long since played, and we were left waiting and wondering. He finally appeared side-stage, and the crowd was whooping it up, and ready. He came out on stage, carrying his guitar like a sledgehammer in one hand, and a 20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew in the other. As he made his way across the stage towards the mic, he slipped on something and took one of the MOST excruciating tumbles I’ve ever witnessed. Just a complete and total FACE PLANT, his guitar thudding atonally along with him, and that damn Mtn Dew bottle rolling around on stage. The audience gasped and a few people giggled uncomfortably at the disaster-in-progress.... I remember thinking, with dread, that there was a distinct possibility that this embarrassment would be the end of it, sorry folks, no show tonight, sorry.

But, he brushed it off amazingly quickly, centered himself in front of the mic, and began the manic strumming we’d come to expect. He launched into this song, which I’d never heard before, and lived up to his legend in the best way possible, with a soul-baring song of love and hope. By the end, there was a quiet accompaniment to his music: the sound of people stifling tears, or just letting loose and crying without any shame. The rest of the show went off without a hitch.

I’ve played this one a few different ways over the years, but never felt inclined to record it until my current band, ExtraOcular, took a stab at it. I’m ever grateful and humbled to cover ANY (and many, over the years) of Daniel’s songs, but this one, well, this one….