# Help to ID this song **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2000, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-to-id-this-song/15627 "2000-04-07T03:17:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2000, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-to-id-this-song/15627/1 "2000-04-08T03:00:00Z")
I think the song is called “Gold”, but I don’t know who sung it or if that’s the correct title. The first verse goes like this: “When the lights go down, in a California town, people are in for the evening. I jump into my car and throw in my guitar, My heart beats in time with my breathing.” The last line of the chorus is “there’s people out there turning music into gold.” Is Gold the correct title? And does anyone know who sang it? * * * Cecil said it. I believe it. That settles it. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2000, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-to-id-this-song/15627/2 "2000-04-08T03:15:00Z")
I can sing it but I can’t for the life of me remember who recorded it. Fleetwood Mac? * * * “I’ll tell him but I don’t think he’ll be very keen. He’s already got one, you see!” ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2000, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-to-id-this-song/15627/3 "2000-04-07T03:17:00Z")
Stevie Nicks did backing vocals. The lead singer was one of the Kingston Trio, but his name escapes me. ---
**Author:** ![OrganicMatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/898d66/32.png) [@OrganicMatter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OrganicMatter)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2000, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-to-id-this-song/15627/4 "2000-04-07T03:20:00Z")
“Gold” - John Stewart sang it with Stevie Nicks. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2000, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-to-id-this-song/15627/5 "2000-04-07T03:21:00Z")
How about Jefferson Starship? There’s a song called “Gold” on their album “Deep Space”. ---
**Author:** ![Neenah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/958977/32.png) [@Neenah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neenah)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2000, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-to-id-this-song/15627/6 "2000-04-07T10:01:00Z")
OrganicMatter is correct. The song appeared on John Stewart’s 1979 album _Bombs Away Dream Babies_ and Stevie Nicks’ 1998 boxed set, _Enchanted_. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2000, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-to-id-this-song/15627/7 "2000-04-07T13:28:00Z")
Just to throw in my 2¢: John Stewart had been a member of the Kingston Trio, and had not had much of a career after having left. He did have a song called “Armstrong,” about the moon landing that I think he performed on the old Smothers Brothers program, but that’s about it. The title “Bombs Away Dream Babies,” and the song “Gold,” are reflective of his frustration with not making any money. “Bombs Away” was his way of saying, “OK, this is it.” And the song “Gold” seems to say, “Other people are making money–why can’t I?” I never understood what he meant by “Climbing old potatoes, singing to my soul, there’s people out there turning music into gold.”