He was smiling through his own personal hell
Dropped his last dime in a wishing well
But he was hoping to close and then he fell
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
He was always polite to the people who'd tell him
That he was nothing but a lazy bum, but
Goodbye to them he had to go
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
Nobody treated him nice while he was alive
You can't buy no respect like the librarian said, but
Everybody respects the dead, they
Love a friendly ghost
And now they say we'll never forget what he learned
As we were mean to him but he never burned
Just singing, "love lives forever!"
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Dropped his last dime in a wishing well
But he was hoping to close and then he fell
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
He was always polite to the people who'd tell him
That he was nothing but a lazy bum, but
Goodbye to them he had to go
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost
Nobody treated him nice while he was alive
You can't buy no respect like the librarian said, but
Everybody respects the dead, they
Love a friendly ghost
And now they say we'll never forget what he learned
As we were mean to him but he never burned
Just singing, "love lives forever!"
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
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D.J'S STILL REPPIN FROM THE REEEEEEEEL UNDAGRAND
everybody respects the dead
who does he refer to here?
On the surface this song is obviously about someone only being respected after they die, but I think underneath it is even more bitter. It sounds to me like Daniel Johnston is saying no one will like him until he is famous, and even though that bothers him, he will be respectful to where he came from.
Then again, this is just my interpretation, I have watched no documentaries.