The legendary songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland used the name Edythe Wayne because of a lawsuit in which they were embroiled with Motown. Ron Dunbar was a staff employee and producer for Invictus. When they first offered the song to Freda Payne, she balked at the idea of recording it, finding the material more appropriate for a teenager or very young woman while she was nearly 30 years old. Payne reluctantly gave in after much persuasion by Dunbar. Almost immediately following its release, the Payne record became an instant pop smash, reaching number three in the US, where it was certified Gold by the RIAA and number one on the UK singles chart, where it remained at the top spot for six weeks in September 1970.
After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, they were still in contact with Motown's house band, the Funk Brothers and when they started their own recording company, with the intention of self-producing the songs they wrote, they asked the Funk Brothers to play on those songs.
Golden World/Motown session singers Pamela Vincent, Joyce Vincent Wilson, and Telma Hopkins provided the background vocals on the record. Joyce and Telma would later go on to form the group Tony Orlando & Dawn. Also singing in the background is Freda Payne's sister and future member of the Supremes, Scherrie Payne, who was also signed to Invictus at the time as a member of the Glass House group.
The distinctive electric sitar part is played by Dennis Coffey. The lead guitar on the selection is performed by Ray Parker Jr., who later headed the team Raydio before becoming a solo recording artist in his own right.
In 2004, Freda Payne's "Band of Gold" was voted number 391 in Rolling Stone magazine's listing of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song tells a story which is open to a number of interpretations – based on the lyrics in the most commonly heard version of the song, which is the seven-inch single, the story is of a recently married woman whose husband is incapable of loving her (even though he tried), resulting in the couple sleeping in separate rooms on their honeymoon, to her dismay. It would appear that the marriage ended in the husband's abandoning his bride, leaving her with no more than the "band of gold" of the title (and the dreams she invested in it). Allusions to the husband either being impotent or gay have been suggested as the cause of the breakdown of the relationship. Steve Huey's article on Allmusic.com deciphers the song as being about the man being impotent – "being unable to perform".
An earlier studio recorded version of the song includes some lyrics which were cut from the seven-inch single, which reveal the story as somewhat different. The couple were young, the girl was either a virgin or sexually inexperienced. She was still living at home ("You took me from the shelter of my mother"), the boy was her first boyfriend ("I had never known or loved any other"), and the relationship was probably unconsummated ("and love me like you tried before"). The couple rush into marriage and the relationship crashes on the wedding night, when the woman rejects her groom's advance ("And the night I turned you away”) emotionally wounding him, resulting in him leaving her. After the hurt she had caused, they spend their wedding night in separate rooms. She then expresses her regret at her mistake ("And the dream of what love could be, if you were still here with me").
According to Ron Dunbar, when interviewed in the documentary Band of Gold – The Invictus Story, he encouraged Payne to learn the lyrics to the song despite her reluctance, Payne saying "this makes no sense to me." Dunbar told her, "you don't have to like it, just sing it!" Dunbar continues: "I dubbed that tune 25, maybe 30 times just to get enough parts of it that we could edit to get the song."
Dunbar continued: "They said this song is a smash in the gay community. And I said, gay community? They said, yeah man, it's a smash. And I says, why is it that? And they said, well it's what the lyrics are saying. She said the guy couldn't make love to her so they figured he had to be gay! And I said oh no! And I remembered when they said that to me and I listened back to the song and there was a part in there... because I remembered when we were editing that tune, it was too long, so we had to cut a section out of the tune so the section we cut out of the song really brought the whole song story together."
The lyrics which Dunbar cut in the final edit which he was referring to were made to reduce the length of the single from three minutes 43 seconds down to the final two minutes 53 seconds. These were taken from the first verse – "And the memories of our wedding day, and the night I turned you away" – these were effectively substituted with, "And the memories of what love could be, if you were still here with me"; and a larger bridge – "Each night, I lie awake and I tell myself, the vows we made gave you the right, to have a love each night." – which is repeated again later in the song, cutting 18 seconds twice over from the song. With further refinements in the arrangements, including a heavier, richer bassline, and a different vocal take, a further 14 seconds were shaved off the final released seven-inch single.
Band of Gold
Freda Payne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
And the memories of what love could be
If you were still here with me
You took me from the shelter of my mother, I had never known
We kissed after taking vows
But that night on our honeymoon
We stayed in separate rooms
I wait in the darkness of my lonely room
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
Hoping soon
That you'll walk back through that door
And love me like you tried before
Since you've been gone
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
And the dream of what love could be
If you were still here with me
Oh, don't you know that I wait
In the darkness of my lonely room
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
Hoping soon
That you'll walk back through that door
And love me like you tried before
Since you've been gone
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
And the dream of what love could be
If you were still here with me
Since you've been gone
All that's left is a band of gold
The song "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne is a heartbreaking ballad about loss and nostalgia. The song tells the story of a woman who has lost her husband, and all she has left is the symbol of their love, a band of gold, which she wears on her finger. The lyrics express the immense sadness and longing of the woman, who cannot move on from her lost love. She remembers the dreams she held with her partner, who she believed could have shared a lifetime of love with her, but now all that is left is the memory of what once was.
The song touches upon the theme of lost love and the difficulty of letting go. The opening lines of the song indicate that the woman is trying to cope with the loss of her loved one, but all she has left is the ring, which symbolizes what little remains of their relationship. The memories and dreams of a life together prevent her from moving on, and despite the hurt she feels, she still longs to be with him.
In conclusion, "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne is a beautiful and poignant song that touches deeply on themes of love and loss, remembrance and nostalgia, and the indelible mark left by the loss of a loved one. The powerful lyrics of this song and the soulful rendition by the artist make it an enduring classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Now that you're gone
My lover has left me, and I am now alone in my sorrow.
All that's left is a band of gold
The only physical reminder of our love is the wedding band still on my finger.
All that's left of the dreams I hold
The hopes and aspirations I had for our future together now seem impossible.
Is a band of gold
The only tangible symbol of our love that remains.
And the memories of what love could be
I still hold onto the idea of what our love could have been, despite its bitter end.
If you were still here with me
I long for the presence and comfort of my lost love.
You took me from the shelter of my mother, I had never known
You were the one who allowed me to break free from the safety of my childhood home and experience the world.
Or loved any other
No one had ever made me feel loved in the way that you did.
We kissed after taking vows
We sealed our marriage with a kiss, promising to love and cherish each other forever.
But that night on our honeymoon
Despite our earlier commitment, our honeymoon was a sign of the troubles that lay ahead.
We stayed in separate rooms
We were not able to connect on our honeymoon, and that distance remained between us even after we returned home.
I wait in the darkness of my lonely room
I spend my nights alone, reminiscing on our lost love and what could have been.
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
My heart is heavy and weighed down with the sadness of our broken love.
Hoping soon
Even in my despair, I continue to hold out hope for a reconciliation.
That you'll walk back through that door
I long for the day when my lover will return to me, repairing the damage that has been done.
And love me like you tried before
I hope that, once reunited, we can rekindle the love we once had for each other.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Edythe Wayne, Ronald Dunbar
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@acdubbs9506
Now that you're gone
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
And the memories of what love could be
If you were still here with me
You took me from the shelter of my mother, I had never known
Or loved any other
We kissed after taking vows
But that night on our honeymoon
We stayed in separate rooms
I wait in the darkness of my lonely room
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
Hoping soon
That you'll walk back through that door
And love me like you tried before
Since you've been gone
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
And the dream of what love could be
If you were still here with me
Oh, don't you know that I wait
In the darkness of my lonely room
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
Hoping soon
That you'll walk back through that door
And love me like you tried before
Since you've been gone
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
And the dream of what love could be
If you were still here with me
Since you've been gone
All that's left is a band of gold
@brucemendelson8306
Loved it at 12, STILL love it at 63. Really takes me back to summertime as a kid, it played on the radio constantly and I never grew tired of it.
@VCora
Different place, but same experience.
@PesterBotLoFi
Bless your heart. I'm 30 and I just heard this... my fiance and I jam to it constantly. Can't kill good music.
@jamiejones9335
I know this song was awesome then and is still awesome now
@jamiejones9335
@PesterBot LoFi Well just read your comment that's right can't kill good music you should listen to the hollies as well
@deborahstaats922
Same here Bruce. 63 and still loving it.
@GeorgeVreelandHill
The entire decade of the 1970s was a band of gold. A great era of life and music.
@kahakookina2822
Yes! . . . definitely.
@philipdowns6723
1970 was certainly one of the best years of music, this being one of many.
@jamesedwardrichardson2131
Isn't a band of good here a symbol of regret, mistake, and lost possibilities?