Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Aussie songstress Kylie Minogue explores the themes of ageism, empowerment and self-worth in her single, "Golden."
She sings, "We're not young and we're not old / We're the stories not yet told / Won't be bought and can't be sold / We are golden."
Released on her 50th birthday in May of 2018, "Golden" reflects Minogue's response to reporters' unrelenting questions about her age.
“This year, I’ll be fifty. And I get it. I get the interest, but I don’t know how to answer it," she told muumuse.com just ahead of the single's release. "And that line ["We're not young and we're not old"], for my personal satisfaction, says it as succinctly as possible. We can’t be anyone else; we can’t be younger or older than we are; we can only be ourselves. We’re golden. And the album title, Golden, reflects all of this."
She continued, "I liked the idea of everyone being golden, shining in their own way. The sun shines in daylight, the moon shines in darkness. Wherever we are in life, we are still golden.”
When Minogue sings, "stay golden," she's encouraging her listeners to remain positive and true to themselves while preserving a youthful, kindhearted spirit despite life's hardships.
And Minogue has overcome her share of challenges.
The singer was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005, resulting in the cancellation of the Australian leg of “Showgirl: The Greatest Hits” tour. She subsequently underwent successful surgery and radiotherapy, and resumed her touring schedule in November 2006 after being declared cancer-free.
Written by Minogue, Lindsay Rimes, Liz Rose and Steve McEwan, "Golden" is the title track of Minogue's 14th studio album. Minogue said the country-tinged song was inspired by her two-week visit to Nashville, a trip that she said has had a "profound" effect on the story-telling approach to her music.
Born Kylie Ann Minogue in 1968, the singer-songwriter began her career as a child actress on an Australian television series. In 1987, her breakout cover of the 1963 hit, “The Loco-Motion,” spent seven weeks at #1 on the Australian singles chart and became the best-selling Aussie single of the 1980s.
To date, Minogue has sold 80 million records worldwide, making her the highest-selling Australian-born solo artist of all time. She has earned numerous awards, including two Grammys, four Brit Awards, 18 ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Music Awards and three MTV Video Music Awards.
Please check out the video of Minogue’s live performance of “Golden” during her Golden Tour in 2018. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
"Golden"
Written by Kylie Minogue, Lindsay Rimes, Liz Rose and Steve McEwan. Performed by Kylie Minogue.
Your feet move just like a dancer
Your soul beats just like a drum
Tomorrow has all the answers
Today says we've just begun
Don't you feel the sun on your face?
Hopeful hearts of the human race
Shining down from above
We're golden
Burn like the stars
Stay golden
Straight from the heart
We're the voice that'll never give in
Getting knocked down back up again
We're golden
Golden
That's who we are
Live your life like you're stealing
Every little moment in time
Infinity goes on forever
Lay your life on the line
Don't you feel the sun on your face?
Hopeful hearts of the human race
Wrapped in the arms of love
We're golden
Burn like the stars
Stay golden
Straight from the heart yeah
We're the voice that'll never give in
Getting knocked down back up again
We're golden golden
Golden
That's who we are
We're not young and we're not old
We're the stories not yet told
Won't be bought and can't be sold
We are golden
We're golden, golden
Burn like the stars
Stay golden, golden
Straight from the heart, yeah
We're the voice that'll never give in
Getting knocked down back up again
We're golden
Golden
That's who we are
Ahhhhh golden
Credits: Screen capture via YouTube / Kylie Minogue.