Bio information from his MySpace page (presumably his own words):
Justin Currie was born in a van near Paisley in 1964 in a hailstorm so vicious that it took a team of panel beaters a month to separate his forehead from the roof. Later on, perhaps in the nineteen eighties he started to sing in a strange breathless way, cramming too many words into odd amounts of bars and found himself, with his group of twee schoolboy punks, Del Amitri, getting firmly up the collective nose of the Glasgow white-soul cognoscenti. Much more loathed than loved, and revelling in their outsider status, Del Amitri attracted a dense little coterie of followers in the United States of America who duly set up a nationwide tour funded by busking, badge selling and the refrigerators of those fans' generous parents. Driven half-mental by their experiences the group came home, ditched their indie twiddling and embarked upon a course of songwriting so sickeningly mainstream and Americanised that it led to a long career being spoilt stupid by the radio and recording industries of the English speaking world. Limos to the pub, ponds full of chips, week-long parties in Bognor, that sort of thing. By 2002 the thing had run it's cliched course; the group's fortunes were dwindling and, dropped by a record firm grown weary of their whining, the two chief writers put the band into cryogenic suspension and set about writing two LPs; a Justin Currie Alone affair and an entirely co-written electronic pop masterpiece. Justin's solo record is called "Rebound" and features eleven thunderously dreary dirges many of which he is currently airing live to pained looking crowds of people in dingy Glasgow basements. When forced by penury, politeness or acute fear he can sometimes also be heard to trawl out tired versions of his withered hits. Justin is unmarried and lives a quiet life of standing up and sitting down in Scotland with his two pet television sets.
Gold Dust
Justin Currie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The wings you think life's given you, they couldn't lift a bread crust
A siren in the sky calls my body home
The last remaining high leaves me low-down and alone
The maps of where you are can be found in every bar
Where those cozy little hommelies hang
The wings you think life's given you, they couldn't lift a bread crust
The confidence of kings leaches from my hands
Where Jupiter did sing a drunken janitor now stands
To figure who you are you look in every single car
Where they stick those tired sideways looks at life
The thing that makes your eyes glitter isn't always gold dust
The wings you life's given you, they couldn't lift a bread crust
Alone, that ain't the word
It's just a groan in the morning nobody ever heard
The thing that makes your eyes glitter isn't always gold dust
The wings you think life's given you, they couldn't lift a bread crust
The lyrics in Justin Currie's "Gold Dust" offer a critique of the myth of the American Dream and the idea that success and happiness are easily attainable. The song emphasizes that success and happiness should not be measured by material wealth or tangible rewards, as the "gold dust" that people chase after is not always what brings joy or fulfillment. The line "the wings you think life's given you, they couldn't lift a bread crust" highlights the idea that we often overestimate our abilities and underestimate the challenges that come with achieving our dreams.
The references to "sirens" and "maps" suggest a longing for home and a sense of direction, but Currie notes that these things are elusive and can't necessarily be found in a physical place. The references to bars and cars emphasize the futility of searching for something that can't be found externally. The line "the last remaining high leaves me low-down and alone" reinforces the idea that even when we achieve our desired goals, it doesn't necessarily bring lasting happiness or satisfaction.
The song speaks to the human condition of always wanting more, and how that can ultimately lead to disappointment and disillusionment. It's a cautionary tale that challenges listeners to redefine their ideas of success and happiness, and to appreciate the simple things in life that truly bring joy.
Line by Line Meaning
The thing that makes your eyes glitter isn't always gold dust
Not everything that glitters is gold
The wings you think life's given you, they couldn't lift a bread crust
Sometimes you think you have everything, but in reality, you have nothing
A siren in the sky calls my body home
There's a sense of longing for something familiar, yet out of reach
The last remaining high leaves me low-down and alone
The temporary moments of happiness leave you feeling more lonely and sad than before
The maps of where you are can be found in every bar
You can find yourself in every place and everyone, but it's harder to see when you're alone
Where those cozy little hommelies hang
Wherever people gather and find comfort in each other's presence
The confidence of kings leaches from my hands
I'm losing my sense of self and becoming more uncertain
Where Jupiter did sing a drunken janitor now stands
The place where there used to be joy is now filled with a sad reality
To figure who you are you look in every single car
You try to find yourself by looking outside, but the answer lies within
Where they stick those tired sideways looks at life
Where people are fed up with the mundanity of everyday life
Alone, that ain't the word
Being alone is more than just a state of being
It's just a groan in the morning nobody ever heard
It's a feeling that's kept hidden and not shared with anyone
Contributed by Luke C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Simon S
on If I Ever Loved You
Jake, I think you miss some of the subtleties going on here. The narrator is asking himself the question of how he feels, but he may well be unreliable. There are some suggestions as to the truth of this in 'maybe there's a tightness around the eyes'. he concedes that something here may be awry, but it sounds as if he is trying to convince himself that really this is nothing. If he really cared so little for this past love, why is he spending so much time reflecting and questioning it? For me the killer line comes in 'I was the interim between nothingness and him'. This line isn't saying she was the interim between him and a new love, it's looking at how unimportant HE was to her. I think the narrator is unreliable and the song has an ambiguous element to it. The chords too suggest a longing for something lost. As usual, Justin's songs are masterpieces that dont give you all the information in a simple discourse. Like love, it's complex.