Dear Daniel Johnston,

i'm really sorry that i thought you weren't very good for the longest time. i mean...i appreciate your story, that's for sure, i just didn't really see much merit in your musical stylings. but, as he often does, zach continued to fluff your work and continuously argued that if i was the lyric-phile that i maintained i was, i should pay attention to what you were saying.

and then i heard "Life in Vain." it may be one of the sweetest songs i've ever heard. and nevermind that your voice usually doesn't sound very good. it sounds perfect in this song. and though it could be seen as kind of depressing--as much of your work sort of is--this song isn't depressing...it's just...it's just true and sweet and quite lovely:

Don't want to be free of hope
And I'm at the end of my rope
It's so tough just to be alive
When I feel like the living dead
I'm giving it up so plain
I'm living my life in vain
And where am I going to?
I got to really try
Try so hard to get by
And where am I going to?

I don't know where is up or down
And there ain't any love left around
Everybody wearin' a frown
Waiting for Santa to come to town
You're giving it up so plain
You're living your lives in vain
And where are you going to?
You've got to really try
Try so hard to get by
And where are you going to?
Flip on your TV
And try to make sense out of that
If we were all in the movies
Maybe we wouldn't be so bored
We're giving it up so plain
We're living our lives in vain
And where are we going to?
You gotta really try
Try so hard to get by
And where are you going to?

Goodbye, goodbye