Walking The Cow

The thing is, when I first heard this song, I thought a pre-pubescent 12-year old was singing it....

And then I did some research on Daniel Johnston, and it turns out that he's very mentally disturbed, almost got locked up for attempted murder.

He got his music out there by working at McDonalds and putting a demo tape on the tray of any cute girl he saw.

Whoa.

But I still love this song.

I love this song. beautiful.

Daniel once described walking the cow as carrying the wait of the world, while miming carrying a cow on his back.

im pretty sure its about when daniel was forced to move to texas to live with his brother.his parents made him.he always said "the devil has texas" "the devil has the cow" he thought of texas as a cow.its a metaphor being in texas.and missing his girl.not knowing where to go.being a young adult and having no where to go

This song is about feeling the weight of the world, as daniel explains in the movie 'the devil and daniel johnston', you know the weight of responsibility and feeling the pressure of trying to 'fit' in and make something of yourself.....there may be some reference to his condition ' I really dont know why I came here, I really dont know why I stay here' this line evokes depression and ' try to remember but my feelings cant know for sure ' this speaks of the confusion he feels.

this is the most beautiful low-fi song i have ever heard. i think the mickeydees-slip-tapes-to-cute-girls thing is really adorable too.

as for the song i think the reference to walking the cow is quite literal and is a metaphor for simply walking aimlessly, going day to day, doing something which looks productive but really isn't. it's a sad song about not achieving very much while having good intentions- "hi how are you- he never meant no one no harm please let him stay!"

I always looked at it this way

As Phonophobe says, in "Go" Daniel says "Someone said that life is like a cow, but I don't know how that applies"

He isn't confused by his own metaphor at all. If life is like a cow, walking the cow means something like the walk of life, or "living life", which is also a D.J. song.

This way it always seemed right to me, and it's basically the same as what Daniel says in the movie.

To me this song is about the aimlessness of life's journey and struggling to find meaning in a confusing world. The song has the sort of comical image of such a pointless task as walking a cow which I think stands for the dragging around the weight of the status quo and social responsibilities. Some daily tasks may as well seems as meaningful as walking a cow sometimes. The song also seems to touch on him missing past memories and wondering what comes next; sort of flitting around on a day to day basis while trying to grapple with the worthiness of the journey. In short I would describe this song as a bittersweet song of uncertainty and a struggle with the purpose of living.

Johnston stands out as an artist for his raw connection with the deepest of human emotions. He really shows his soul to the world through his music and I can respect that because sometimes the rawest of emotions can be the hardest to articulate and tap into. This song is just one of many heart felt songs by Johnston.

I think this song is about disillusionment.

It's about a man whose day-to-day life consists of monotonous and burdensome tasks (i.e. walking a cow). He no longer can recall what his aspirations were and how it was that he came to where he currently is. It is implied he can't remember because it is too painful to remember ("but my feelings get old for sure," as it is sung in certain versions.)

While mulling over his own fate, he thinks about someone who still has his/her aspirations or ideals intact. Someone with "lucky stars in [their] eyes".

This serves as contrast between what he once was and what he currently is.

The subject of the song also seems to have made some peace or is at least resigned to his fate. He is not capable of laying any blame or worrying over his destiny.

love this song, I have no clue what walking the cow might mean, but I've got my own interpretation of the song.

just you know, losing the feelings you might have about someone, and wondering where those feelings went, and staying around hoping that they'll come back to you. you try to blame them for your change of heart but it's not really the reason.