Walking The Cow

Cover Wars: Walking The Cow (Daniel Johnston)

Considering this week’s song, Walking the Cow, was first released via a 1983 self recorded cassette tape, made in the home of Daniel Johnston, the covers sound quite different from the original. Johnston’s take from his album Hi, How Are You is a poignantly simple and honest delivery from the Austin, Texas mainstay whose well documented mental illness has both informed and hampered his creative output. His influence on recent artists from the Seattle grunge movement to the current wave of independent bands is undeniable evidenced by two of the contenders coming from tribute albums featuring impressive lineups of inspired musicians. For a true appreciation of the song and the covers start with the original recording by Johnston.


The Contestants:

Artist: fIREHOSE
Album: Flyin’ The Flannel
The Skinny: Bassist Mike Watt’s snapping notes punctuate this mellowed out version and only cover on their 1991 album. The California band puts just a touch of country twang on the Texan tune.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/firehosecow.mp3]

READ ON for more covers of Daniel Johnston’s Walking The Cow…

Read More

View posts by year

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter