Original Performance: Daniel Johnston
Written by: Daniel Johnston
Written by: Daniel Johnston
Versions:
Lyrics:
Some Things Last A Long Time [Version (a)]:
Beck: Alright, continuing with the covers, this is an old Daniel Johnston song. Do you play his music?
KCRW DJ: Not that much... I know who he is and we've got some records. He doesn't get played that much on the radio anywhere. Probably a little bit here.
Beck: Yeah, this is a song I always loved. It's called "Some Things Last A Long Time."
Your picture is still on my wall, on my wall
The colors are bright, bright as ever
Red is strong and blue is pure
Some things last a long time
Some things last a long time
It's funny, but it's true
And it's true, but it's not funny
Time comes and goes
All of the while, I still think about you
Some things last a long time
Your picture is still on my wall, on my wall
I think about you often, often
I won't forget all the things we did
Some things last a long time
Some things last a lifetime
Some things last a long time
Some things last a lifetime
Beck: Alright, continuing with the covers, this is an old Daniel Johnston song. Do you play his music?
KCRW DJ: Not that much... I know who he is and we've got some records. He doesn't get played that much on the radio anywhere. Probably a little bit here.
Beck: Yeah, this is a song I always loved. It's called "Some Things Last A Long Time."
Your picture is still on my wall, on my wall
The colors are bright, bright as ever
Red is strong and blue is pure
Some things last a long time
Some things last a long time
It's funny, but it's true
And it's true, but it's not funny
Time comes and goes
All of the while, I still think about you
Some things last a long time
Your picture is still on my wall, on my wall
I think about you often, often
I won't forget all the things we did
Some things last a long time
Some things last a lifetime
Some things last a long time
Some things last a lifetime
The Song:
Daniel Johnston is a relatively obscure songwriter from Austin from the '80s (to today). He alternately wrote emotional, poignant songs (like this one) and weird ones (some of his song titles include "I Save Cigarette Butts" and "She Called Pest Control"). His biggest fame came when Kurt Cobain wore a Johnston T-shirt at an MTV Music Awards show. A lot of Johnston's early work was home recordings and releases, and the humor and sound and general atmosphere of the songs I have heard are extremely similar to Beck's early work. Things like "Almost Got Hit By A Truck," which was done over a simple accordion riff, sound like it could easily have been a Don't Get Bent Out Of Shape outtake/influence. Whether they're just kindred songwriting spirits, or Beck was hugely inpired by Johnston, is up to debate. (I bet both.)
Anyway, it's easy to see why Beck would like this song so much. It's highly emotional, but still with a little fun wordplay and flair ("It's funny, but it's true. . .and it's true, but it's not funny," for example).
Beck has also covered Johnston's "Devil Town," which is from the same album as "Some Things Last A Long Time." (The album, 1990, also has a Beck-like folk song, "Don't Play Cards With Satan"!)
Daniel Johnston is a relatively obscure songwriter from Austin from the '80s (to today). He alternately wrote emotional, poignant songs (like this one) and weird ones (some of his song titles include "I Save Cigarette Butts" and "She Called Pest Control"). His biggest fame came when Kurt Cobain wore a Johnston T-shirt at an MTV Music Awards show. A lot of Johnston's early work was home recordings and releases, and the humor and sound and general atmosphere of the songs I have heard are extremely similar to Beck's early work. Things like "Almost Got Hit By A Truck," which was done over a simple accordion riff, sound like it could easily have been a Don't Get Bent Out Of Shape outtake/influence. Whether they're just kindred songwriting spirits, or Beck was hugely inpired by Johnston, is up to debate. (I bet both.)
Anyway, it's easy to see why Beck would like this song so much. It's highly emotional, but still with a little fun wordplay and flair ("It's funny, but it's true. . .and it's true, but it's not funny," for example).
Beck has also covered Johnston's "Devil Town," which is from the same album as "Some Things Last A Long Time." (The album, 1990, also has a Beck-like folk song, "Don't Play Cards With Satan"!)
Live:
Played live once:
November 3, 2000
Beck, while making his annual stop in at KCRW in 2000, didn't really have anything to promote. So he did a bunch of sad, melancholy covers; among them this amazing, heartwrenching song. Beck is sitting at a piano and singing, which is not something you hear Beck do often! He plays piano like he does other instruments...not with virtuosic fluency, but with enough emotion to get the point across. As evidenced from the picture above, he was reading the lyrics off a piece of paper.
Played live once:
November 3, 2000
Beck, while making his annual stop in at KCRW in 2000, didn't really have anything to promote. So he did a bunch of sad, melancholy covers; among them this amazing, heartwrenching song. Beck is sitting at a piano and singing, which is not something you hear Beck do often! He plays piano like he does other instruments...not with virtuosic fluency, but with enough emotion to get the point across. As evidenced from the picture above, he was reading the lyrics off a piece of paper.
Notes:
- For more information on Daniel Johnston, check out Hi! How Are You?
- Beck has covered five Daniel Johnston songs, all from the album, 1990. They are "Devil Town," "Spirit World Rising," "Some Things Last A Long Time," "True Love Will Find You In The End," and "Don't Play Cards With Satan."
- The lyrics of Johnston's original:
Your picture is still on my wall, on my wall
The colors are bright, bright as ever
The red is strong, the blue is pure
Some things last a long time
Some things last a long time
Your picture is still on my wall, on my wall
I think about you often, often
I won't forget the things we did
Some things last a long time
Some things last a long time
It's funny, but it's true
And it's true, but it's not funny
Time comes and goes
All of the while I still think of you
Some things last a long time
Your picture is still on my wall, on my wall
The colors are bright, bright as ever
The things we did, I can't forget
Some things last a lifetime
Some things last a lifetime
Some things last a lifetime - Apparently Jad Fair wrote the lyrics, and Daniel the music. Go here for info on that, after the song got namedropped in, of all places, Mary Worth.