I wrote “The Golden Age” back in 2003 when I was a missionary living in New York City. On my day off, I would sometimes head over the church building and play piano and this is one of the songs that came out of those practice sessions.
It’s about where we’ve come as a people and how we define progress. Living in a big city like New York, you clearly see the disparity between rich and poor. We sometimes define success as having a comfortable house in a nice neighborhood and I think sometimes we lose something in trying to have the most comfortable life possible.
It’s influenced by John Lennon’s famous track, “Imagine” as well as Coldplay and Aqualung.
When it came time to record, I keep the instruments sparse with just a piano and vocal with no effects. I think it works for the song.
Lyrics:
Every passing moment spent, my whole world is caving in
Truth evolves in subtle ways, changing slowly every day
In a thousand years from now, drifting to a smaller town
I can’t find the meaning in, words replaced with ignorance
Breaking from the myth that kept us down so many years
Everything erased, exactly how it was before the golden age
Lost inside a crowded street, voices always fail to speak
Comfort from the safest place leaves another another vacant space