Don't get me wrong - i love this song, musically. It's magical stuff.

But lyrically, am I missing something? It seems totally facile.

Take:

"There's a mountain and it's mighty high
U cannot see the top, unless U fly
There's a molehill, of proven ground
There ain't nowhere 2 go if U hang around"

To me, that's just schoolboy stuff. which disappoints me. This is the dude whose lyrics are often very clever, witty, blah blah.

so help me out - is there something profound i'm not seeing here?

or do you dig the lyrics? and...why!?

I agree. I've always thought these lyrics were blah. Didn't he borrow from Zeppelin "all that glitters aint gold?" Maybe I should do some research before I post, but who's got kind of discipline?

Actually, its borrowed from Shakespeare, "The merchant of venice"

I like his clever stuff.

But I like the Gold lyrics too. The music seems to add profundity to them.

My favorite verse is the last "There's a lady. 99 years old. If she led a good life, Heaven takes her soul. Now, that's the theory and if you don't want to know ... step aside and make a way for those who want to go..."

Nope, not great stuff, but with the music ... the lyrics sound soo full they grab my heart every time a take listen.

gold is gold.

I used to hate this song. It is like a molehill of proven ground lyrically & musically. It's like a new Purple Rain, but it has no soul or originality.
But there's a couple interesting lines in there:

"What's the use of being young if U ain't gonna get old?
Even at the center of fire there is cold
All that glitters ain't gold"

My interpretation is that this song is pop glitter, but while other songs may glitter, they ain't Gold. The difference is that he is speaking/playing truth, even if some of the lyrics/music sound completely cliche. I think that's why it eventually grew on me. Similar to Diamonds & Pearls in that respect(though I think D&P is more of a metaphor).
[Edited 4/26/05 16:45pm]

thanks for the responses.

i admit that the second verse is better, lyrically - probably why i focussed on the first verse.

to be honest, the first line (there's a mountain...unless you fly) to me is almost as bad as Kravitz's "Fly Away". Though Lenny's never been very creative or interesting lyrically, though again - i dig most of his music pre-"Lenny".

i still can't quite grasp what prince is saying in that first verse. it's almost as if he's just chosen lyrics which fit the music, and he doesn't give a shit what they mean.

I agree.

I've always felt that Gold is a triumph musically, but the lyrics are little more than power ballad cliches. There are a few good lines, and the chorus is nice. But there are plenty of cringe worthy lines in there aswell.

"You cannot see the top... unless you fly!"

Cloudbuster said:

Not every song needs to ooze with hidden meanings and complexity.

doctamario said:

that's true, but it needn't be meaningless and ridden with cliche.

TheFrog said:

That's just ill.

Cloudbuster said:

TheFrog said:

Cloudbuster said:

Cloudbuster said:

wtf?

TheFrog said:

Cloudbuster said:

TheFrog said:

Cloudbuster said:

Okay, mental health alert!

Cloudbuster said:

Knowing prince as a loooover of the metaphor, in the first 4 lines

There's a mountain and it's mighty high
U cannot see the top unless U fly
And there's a molehill of proven ground
There ain't no where 2 go if U hang around

Prince mite be saying that if you want to be the greatest you can be, u have to reach above what is comfortable and proven, have 2 reach 4 the unknown, you can't just limit ur abilities unless of you like being safe and secure. That the unkknown is a world of possibilities regardless whether it be a "success" or not, etc. It is ur opinion that matters not anyone else's. Sure all that glitters ain't gold BUT at least u willl never regret.

FunkyBrotha said:

The only lines that make any sense to me in this song are:

"Everybody wants to tell what's already been told,
Everybody wants to sell what's already been sold."

Those were pretty good lines to describe where he was at the time. Otherwise the lyrics are total phizz.

SynthiaRose said:

I LOVE (L O V E) that verse.
...grabs my heart too

missmad said:

Thanks for that....
I think you did it justice!
(The real jewels aren't left in plain sight)

DuckPurple said:

no problem DuckPurple. very true.
[Edited 4/27/05 11:22am]