Daniel Johnston – Devil Town

General CommentIf you've seen The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a documentary about his life, it talks about his problems. He was Manic Depressive (Bi Polar) and had delusions of Gradiose. He also suffered the paranioa that comes with such disorders and he believed that the devil was out to get him, that the devil was in the city of Austin, where he spent much time performing. He also was only able to write songs when he was not on medication, thus I take this song very literally. He believed demons were in everyone but him. Thus we have the vampires.
xoxo

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  @cartoon_cat3
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  Yeah man, this is how I see this song. People are interpreting this as a song about drugs, but from what I've learned about his life, his devout Christianity and the frame of mind he was in around the creation of this song, I believe it's about the devil and how he believed the devil played so much influence on him and his music career and the demons he believed plagued and chased him

  Flag dan420on August 22, 2013  

General Commentive got a really good cover of this song that i like much more than the orginal but dan's lyrics say it all. i think its about realizing that drugs and your drug friends arent the best sort of people and that theres consequences to such hedonism.

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  @SaladFingers

General Comment^saladfingers^ u said it all.
but are you talking about the bright eyes cover?
i love them both. but u could never ever beat daniels vocals and the soul that he puts in his music

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  @devil_town77

General CommentRight. Everyone but him. Exactly why he says "turns out I was a vampire myself." He wasn't being paranoid of everyone else, he was being paranoid of everything equally. I think. Maybe. I think.

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  @Fay

General CommentThat film also speaks of an incident in which daniel ran into a woman's house, and was arrested. He believed Satan had possesed him.

This is a beautiful song. Personally, i far prefer it to the bright eyes cover. Another of my very favourite songs.

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  @shut up hannah.

General Commentusing and taking from each other for our own evil benefit

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  @wholeconcept

General Comment"All this automatic writing, I have tried to understand..." I love Bright Eyes' cover of Devil Town. I believe Conner is a fan of that style of writing (as reflected in his own writing). To be honest it means a different thing for evey person. Every town is a Devil Town, for its own unique fucked up reason. And all of us and all our friends are "vampires" with our secret agendas and secret lives. We all have our secrets, every town every person. --- Trisha Lynn

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  @trisha.everyday

General Commentcartoon cat's got it right on.
agreed.
the only reason i can think to why he'd say "turns out i was a vampire myself" is, i don't know. realization of things that hes done, i mean he slammed a lead pipe on his best friends head. he certainly could feel guilty and as he'd say "possessed" from doing these things.

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  @dillinger

General CommentI think Daniel was trying to reflect on a mixed bipolar episode he had experienced. I don't know that for sure, but that is how I connect with this song. For me, "They Live" was for real, the world was dark, and everyone was soulless. It wasn't a political statement, it was just an altered state of spiritual perception, that eerily still fit reality.

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  @LogicalDreamer

General CommentThe song is about the bloodgroup Rhesus Negative, he was RH-, so were all his friends.

for more info and an insight into what Daniel is talking about goto wakeup.to/…

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  @EvilTwin