Sweetheart

Album: A Wasteland Companion (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song was written by the American lo-fi singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston, who originally recorded the song on his self-released 1983 album, Yip/Jump Music. Ward previously covered Johnston's song, "To Go Home" on his 2006 Post-War album. He told UK newspaper The Sun: "I've been covering his songs since high school. I am endlessly amazed at how few people know his early songs. Some of his songs are as good as anything John Lennon ever wrote. I will probably be covering his songs until the end."
  • Ward's She & Him partner, Zooey Deschanel, contributes dreamy backing vocals to the track.
  • Ward's version is almost entirely different from the original. He told Spinner how it evolved: "I approached his song - and the way that I approach all cover songs and all of my own songs - it begins with just guitar and vocals, or piano and vocals. That's where you start to build from is the bare essentials. When I'm covering a song I like to create building blocks separate from the productions that are already in existence or have already been heard. It's no fun for me to cover a song and produce it the exact same way as it already exists. When I hear that happening I have to say, 'What's the point?'"

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