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An Idiot's End

from Songs of Pain (1980) by Daniel Johnston

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lyrics

I don't have to say a thing
She knows exactly what I want
But anytime I feel like this
What we have goes out for lunch

She looks at me like a gun cocked
And I'm afraid to turn my back
For fear of being loved
She leans forward for me to see

The lights of her majesty
She's tempting me with a razor blade
But time is money at a penny arcade
And there's monkeys in the shadows

And virgins afraid of being laid
The court jester holds up a light bulb and says
"All that is made is made to decay"

To know her is to love her
And I love her, but I don't know her
To know her is to love her
And I love her, but I don't know her

I feel for a place to sit
Things always go on this way
I'm lost for a little bit
'Til I come up with something to say

Then I'll go on and on
About rat skulls in her lawn
I'll not specifically mention names her and I know
We're just ashamed

She knows I'm here
And she readily rebukes her sister
She treats me with a sudden respect
Suddenly she calls me mister

But just as soon, I soon forget
And start poking around in the trash
Talking myself into outer space
And watching the reactions on her face

To know her is to love her
And I love her but I don't know her
To know her is to love her
And I love her but I don't know her

The picture of her sitting there
Me and her on that chair
I can only say as much as I please
But not as much as I dare

Where is the little girl who fell in love with me
The girl who fell in love with a sat-el-lite
That little girl's moved out now
But the satellite still comes around
Most every other night

I think my interest bleeds a heart
Of a dead dog lying in her yard
I could catch her standing naked
I could catch her cold
I could catch her breath and bottle it
But I could never catch her off guard

Now when I go there nowadays
It's like visiting a sinking ship
And I'm a man overboard
And she won't throw me a lifeline
Symbolically represented by her lips

Yes, to know her is to love her
And I love her but I don't know her
To know her is to love her
And I love her, but I don't know her
No No No No

credits

from Songs of Pain (1980), released December 1, 1980

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about

Daniel Johnston Waller, Texas

An American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist, Daniel Johnston spent 30 or so years exposing his heartrending tales of unrequited love, cosmic mishaps, and existential torment to an ever-growing international cult audience.

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