Goldwing

Album: Happier Than Ever (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Billie Eilish gives out a warning to a young lady who is more innocent than her. The singer advises the "gold-winged angel" to stay clear of certain men who will charm and exploit her; they will then walk away, leaving the vulnerable girl torn apart.
  • In a Spotify lyric mode commentary, Eilish explained she wrote the song as "a metaphor for a young woman especially in the street or life that is pure, and I don't mean a virgin. I mean like a young, non-exploited, non-traumatized person. A metaphor for that being a gold-winged angel."
  • The song begins with a choral arrangement derived from Gustav Holst's 1907 piece "Hymn to Vena." This hymn to the Hindu king Vena hails the sun rising through the mist. It's from the third group of Hymns from The Rig Veda, the English composer's translation of choral hymns from a sacred Hindu text. It was a hymn that Eilish used to sing as a child in the Los Angeles Children's Chorus.
  • At 2:31, this is the shortest song on Happier Than Ever, Eilish's second album.
  • The song is partly inspired by Olivia Rodrigo. "It's not only about her," Eilish told the LA Times. "I was just thinking about her when I was writing it. She was coming up, and she was younger than me, and nobody had ever been younger than me."

    Eilish went on to recall how she worried for Rodrigo after she blew up in the music industry. "She came up in that acting world, and people are so weird. I don't know - I just felt very protective over her. And I feel that way to everyone," she said. "I just see myself in all these young girls. And it's the girls, man. Boys can handle themselves. They're dudes - they don't have to deal with it like we do. I just want to hold everybody in a little glass box and never let anything touch them."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Daniel Lanois

Daniel LanoisSongwriter Interviews

Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.