Sweetheart

Album: A Wasteland Companion (2012)
Play Video

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?'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up Musicians

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up MusiciansSong Writing

Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Church Lyrics

Church LyricsMusic Quiz

Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.