Born in Hereford, England, she later moved to the country's east coast to study drama at the University of Kent. Goulding had developed a love for folk music as a teenager, and her time at university also exposed her to electronica. After two years, she took a break from her studies and moved to West London, where she pursued a career as an alternative singer/songwriter and befriended producers like Starsmith and Frankmusik, who gave her songs an electro-pop twist. In 2009, Goulding began building an audience via the Internet, where early tracks like "Starry Eyed" and a cover of Sam Sparro's "Black & Gold" were posted on tastemaking MP3 blogs such as Discodust. Goulding soon graduated from the blogosphere to print media, gaining praise from mainstream publications like The Guardian and fielding offers from record labels. She ultimately signed a major-label deal with Polydor Records and began making preparations to release her debut album. In the meantime, she penned songs for Diana Vickers, Gabriella Climi, and others.
During the final weeks of 2009, Goulding topped the BBC's Sound of 2010, a poll conducted by British music critics and industry insiders to identify new talent. Building on that momentum, she released Lights -- a sparkling debut album that splashed Goulding's vocal flutter across a landscape of acoustic and synthesized instruments -- in March 2010. Lights topped the U.K. charts during its first week and spun off "Starry Eyed" as a Top Five single (it also charted well in Ireland and New Zealand). Later that year, the album was re-released as Bright Lights, featuring seven new recordings (including a cover of Elton John's "Your Song," which peaked at number two).
In 2012, Goulding returned with her sophomore album, Halcyon, which showcased an even more sonically adventurous, electro-pop-infused sound. In 2013, a deluxe reissue featuring ten extra songs was released; entitled Halcyon Days, it acted as a supplement to the original release. Two of its new songs, "Burn" and "How Long Will I Love You," were among her biggest hits. The following year, she was featured on Calvin Harris' Top Ten U.K. hit "Outside," participated in Band Aid 30's update of "Do They Know It's Christmas?," and entered the U.K. Top Ten once more with "Beating Heart," a song released on the soundtrack for Divergent. Another soundtrack single, "Love Me Like You Do," added to the success of Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015.
That same year, Goulding released her third studio album, Delirium, which featured collaborations with Max Martin, Greg Kurstin, and others. The pop-leaning Delirium included the single "On My Mind" and peaked at number three on the U.S. and U.K. charts. Goulding returned in 2017 on "First Time," a collaboration with electronic producer Kygo.
In 2018, Goulding joined Tap Management after almost a decade with First Access Management.[107] She appeared on a collaboration with Sean Paul on his Mad Love the Prequel EP titled "Bad Love", released on 29 June 2018.[108]
Goulding collaborated with Diplo and Swae Lee on the single "Close to Me", which was released on 24 October 2018.[109] On 1 January 2019, The Guardian reported that she has been working on her fourth album, set to release in the same year.[110] On 1 March, she released the next single "Flux".[111] She said regarding the album, "It's very much written by me".[112]
On 12 April 2019, Goulding released the single "Sixteen".[113] Goulding said of the single, "...That age was such a pivotal year for me in many ways and this song is so close to my heart. It takes me back to the reckless days of being a teenager and I hope it reminds us all about the innocence of youth."[114]
Goulding released "Hate Me" with American rapper Juice Wrld on 26 June 2019.[115][116] It was premiered by Zane Lowe as his 'World Record' on Beats 1.[117] In July, Goulding stated that her next material to be released would be the songs "Woman I Am" and "Start".[118] In November, she released her rendition of Joni Mitchell's Christmas song "River", which topped the UK Singles Chart, becoming her third UK number one single and the last UK number one song of the 2010s.[119]
On 13 March 2020, Goulding released the new single "Worry About Me" which was created in-collaboration with Blackbear.[120] In a radio interview with Heart the same month, she revealed that the album "kind of comes in two parts", adding that "the first side is something written entirely by me which was fun and I wrote most of it in New York when I was living there a few years back. I play the guitar and I play the bass and piano and then I'm singing a lot of vocals. It's very classically influenced because I love classical music. There's a lot going on, it's a big soundscape and one big film. The second half is my kind of alter ego songs."[121] On 21 May she released single "Power" and on 30 June single "Slow Grenade" with Lauv.
Goulding released her fourth studio album, Brightest Blue, on 17 July 2020. Originally scheduled for 5 June 2020, the album's release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The album debuted at the top of the UK Album Chart, becoming Goulding's third album to do so,[122] as well as at No. 2 in Scotland.[123] It reached the top 10 in Ireland[124] as well as the top 40 in over ten countries including Australia, Germany and the United States.
Goulding announced on an Instagram Q&A that she would be releasing new music which was not part of the Brightest Blue era at the end of January 2021.[125] On 21 January, she released a collaboration with electronic duo Silk City, titled "New Love".[126] On 30 September, Goulding performed "Anything Could Happen" as part of the opening ceremony for Expo 2020, held in Dubai.[127]
On 19 June 2022, Goulding performed at Rock in Rio in Lisbon, Portugal. After the concert, she announced that she would be releasing new music in July. The following day, she blacked out all her social media profiles.[128] Back in July 2021, during an interview with Joe Wicks, she described the forthcoming album as "a dance record. It's electronic pop, a dance thing from outer space".[129] On 4 July 2022, she announced the release of "Easy Lover" featuring Big Sean, which was released on 15 July.[130] The single did not enter the UK Singles Top 100, but peaked at number 31 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart Top 100.[131] It was followed by "All by Myself", a collaboration between Goulding and producers Alok and Sigala, on 7 October.[132] Goulding released the single "Let It Die" along with its video on 19 October and announced the same day that her fifth studio album Higher Than Heaven would be released on 3 February 2023.[133][134]
On 22 March 2023, Goulding released the single "By The End Of The Night".[135][136]
Black & Gold
Ellie Goulding Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the apes climbed down from the trees, and grew tall and they started talking
And the stars fell out of the sky, and my tears rolled into the ocean
Now I'm looking for a reason why you even set my world into motion
'Cause if you're not really here, then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
But it's all just a bunch of matter
I want be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black gold
I looked up into the night sky and see a thousand eyes staring back
And all around these golden beacons I see nothing but black
I feel a wave of something beyond them, I don't see what I can feel
If vision is the only validation, then most of my life isn't real
'Cause if you're not really here, then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
But it's all just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not really here, then I don't want to be either
I want be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black gold
I want to be next to you
'Cause if you're not really here, then the stars don't even matter
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
But it's all just a bunch of matter
'Cause if you're not really here, then I don't want to be either
I want be next to you
Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold
The lyrics of Ellie Goulding's song "Black and Gold" explore the idea of questioning the validity of reality when the person you love is not physically present. The first verse starts with a hypothetical situation where a fish evolving into a creature with legs and apes evolving into tall beings who talk, and the stars falling out of the sky and tears rolling into the ocean are all implausible, but the idea of the person setting the world into motion is plausible. The chorus centers around the premise that if the person is not physically present, then nothing else matters and everything else is just a bunch of matter. The second verse builds on this idea of questioning reality by highlighting the contrast between the golden beacons in the sky and the darkness around them. The singer admits that she can feel something beyond what she sees, but if vision is the only validation, then most of her life isn't real, adding to the fear and uncertainty she feels.
Overall, the song is about the impact that the person's absence has on the singer's perception of reality, and how it makes her question the validity of everything else. The use of symbolism like the stars falling out of the sky and the fish growing legs, highlight how the person has changed the singer's perception of the world around her.
Line by Line Meaning
If a fish swam out of the ocean, grew legs and they started walking
The impossible has happened and it has made Ellie question what's real and what's not.
And the apes climbed down from the trees, and grew tall and they started talking
Ellie is describing another impossible event that contributes to her uncertainty.
And the stars fell out of the sky, and my tears rolled into the ocean
Ellie has lost all sense of stability and security, and feels like she's all alone in the world.
Now I'm looking for a reason why you even set my world into motion
Ellie is trying to make sense of why someone has come into her life and disrupted her sense of reality.
'Cause if you're not really here, then the stars don't even matter
Ellie is saying that if the person she cares about is not truly present, then everything else in her life loses meaning as well.
Now I'm filled to the top with fear
Ellie is describing the intense emotions that come with the uncertainty she's feeling.
But it's all just a bunch of matter
Ellie is acknowledging that her thoughts and feelings may not actually reflect reality.
'Cause if you're not really here, then I don't want to be either
Ellie is saying that if the person she cares about is not truly present, she doesn't want to be a part of this world anymore.
I want to be next to you
Ellie wants to feel close to the person she cares about because that's the only way to feel anchored in the world.
I looked up into the night sky and see a thousand eyes staring back
Ellie is describing the feeling of being watched or observed, which makes her feel vulnerable and exposed.
And all around these golden beacons I see nothing but black
Even though there are sources of light and guidance around her, Ellie only sees darkness and uncertainty.
I feel a wave of something beyond them, I don't see what I can feel
Ellie is sensing something that's beyond her rational understanding, but she can't put her finger on it.
If vision is the only validation, then most of my life isn't real
Ellie is saying that if her perception of the world is the only way to validate what's real, then most of her experiences feel fake or insubstantial.
Black and gold, black and gold, black gold
Ellie is using this phrase to describe the contrast between light and dark, good and bad, and how everything seems to be a mix of both.
Contributed by Tyler R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Warlocked & Loaded
I will always call this version Black and Goulding :D
Maygan Haygood
I've heard the original, Adele's version, and other versions but THIS one is my favorite. Her voice is incredible and anyone who says otherwise is jealous of her skills. That's all!
Daarisha
Wow. Not many singers can cover a song and give the origional artist a run for their money! Well done Ellie.
Drama Smith
2022 and this song is still one of the only things that’ll drift me to sleep. Brings me joy to see her progress
RazzberryRipple
I think this is better than the original. Another great song from Ellie <3
Emiline Eeckelaert
Her voice is so awesome !
KP
Saw her last night in Bristol! Amazing and far better than Little Boots, the headlining act! Ellie deserves more of her own gigs!
gatman
I remember repeatedly listening to this song in 2010 while playing the Skate 3 demo on Xbox 360 and working through my depression. Love coming back to this song.
Panada
she puts sooo much effort and details in her songs, even in a cover like this song!! That shows her love in the music she is doing
CartoonPropaganda
Elli Goulding has this very amazing and distinct voice and It's like listening to dove's singing, pure talent!