Golden
Failure Lyrics


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He cut through the streets, eyes upturned
A small patch of sky looked down on him
Through baskets they weave so thickly
He saw on a sea
Alone in the clouds

A rusty old bridge
Was jailed in his mind
He thought it was golden
It swayed to his breath
And creaked with the bolts
He unpacked his coat
And laid down

With somebody's shoes he traveled
Between the two ends of his bridge
He learned all the holes to crawl in
And stayed for the time
When winds too cold

The rats that could march
Whispered in his ear
He knew it meant something
But nobody came
He sat through the nights
And watched all the darkness
It spread with his breath
And pushed back the sky
He stayed for the days
On his home

A rusty old bridge




Would scream in his mind
He thought it was golden

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Failure’s song Golden describe a person lost in their own world, wandering through the streets with their gaze aimed towards the sky. The imagery of baskets woven so thickly that a sea can be seen suggests a dense and overwhelming environment that the person traverses alone. The “rusty old bridge” serves as a metaphor for the person’s mind, one that is imprisoned and struggling against its constraints. However, the bridge also represents a form of solace, something that sways to the person’s breath and creaks with the bolts, providing a comforting familiarity. He unpacks his coat and lies down, indicating that he may be homeless or choosing to live on the bridge.


The person appears to have learned to survive on this bridge, using old shoes to travel between its two ends, and finding comfort in its holes and spaces. Yet, the rats that march and whisper to him suggest an underlying madness or isolation, that nobody else understands. He sits through the nights, watching as darkness spreads with his breath and pushes back the sky. The bridge, an object of imprisonment and comfort, also screams in his mind, but he chooses to cling to the belief that it is golden, something worth holding onto amidst his inner turmoil.


Overall, the song’s lyrics describe a person struggling with their own mind, finding solace and comfort in their isolation, but also acknowledging the darkness and madness that comes with it. The “golden” bridge represents both a comforting anchor and a source of inner turmoil, suggesting that the person is stuck in a cycle they may not be able to break free from.


Line by Line Meaning

He cut through the streets, eyes upturned
He walked through the streets with his head held high


A small patch of sky looked down on him
He only saw a small part of the sky while he was walking


Through baskets they weave so thickly
He saw baskets that were weaved together in close proximity


He saw on a sea
He saw the vastness of what lay before him


Alone in the clouds
He was isolated, feeling lonely


A rusty old bridge
He thought about an old bridge that was deteriorated


Was jailed in his mind
The bridge was something that he thought about frequently and it bothered him


He thought it was golden
He thought that something that was really deteriorated was valuable


It swayed to his breath
The bridge moved with the rhythm of his breathing


And creaked with the bolts
The sound of the deteriorated bolts could be heard when the bridge moved


He unpacked his coat
He settled himself down next to the bridge


And laid down
He lied down next to the deteriorated bridge


With somebody's shoes he traveled
He walked with shoes that belonged to somebody else


Between the two ends of his bridge
He walked between the two sides of the bridge


He learned all the holes to crawl in
He learned every possible place he could go through to get to the other side of the bridge


And stayed for the time
He stayed there for sometime


When winds too cold
He stayed there when the wind was too cold to travel


The rats that could march
Some rats that he saw could walk really well


Whispered in his ear
He felt like the rats were communicating with him


He knew it meant something
He felt like he could learn something from the rats


But nobody came
Nobody came to help him during his time of loneliness


He sat through the nights
He sat through the nights with his thoughts


And watched all the darkness
He sat and watched as darkness surrounded him


It spread with his breath
The darkness seemed to surround him even more when he breathed


And pushed back the sky
The darkness was so thick that it clouded the sky above him


He stayed for the days
He stayed there for several days


On his home
He was at a place that he considered his home


A rusty old bridge
He continued to think about the deteriorated bridge


Would scream in his mind
The thoughts of the bridge would not stop bothering him


He thought it was golden
He still believed that something deteriorated was valuable




Contributed by Eli N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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