The Gold In The Mountain Of Our Madness
Wayne's Notes from the Album:
A little parable that I believe is about growing up with my intense brothers and our idealistic expectations that could never become real. This is a re-occuring theme that I did not have, at the beginning of this song, any understanding of. Steven had outlined a very optimistic arrangement that felt like an arching story with a nice little moral at the end. Trouble is, I had no end. You see... as much as I think it (the song) is about mine and my brother's lives... I did not know what happened to us after we reached the top of this mountain and found there was no gold! But magically, somehow... not through thinking... but by simply singing... whatever it was that could come out of my mouth, I sang the line, 'We can treasure what we find, and make it golden in our minds.' You see, our art shows us more about who we are than we even know."
"The Gold In The Mountain Of Our Madness" came from an instrumental named "Plinkee" that Steven had composed for the Lips to use as an intro for live shows.
A little parable that I believe is about growing up with my intense brothers and our idealistic expectations that could never become real. This is a re-occuring theme that I did not have, at the beginning of this song, any understanding of. Steven had outlined a very optimistic arrangement that felt like an arching story with a nice little moral at the end. Trouble is, I had no end. You see... as much as I think it (the song) is about mine and my brother's lives... I did not know what happened to us after we reached the top of this mountain and found there was no gold! But magically, somehow... not through thinking... but by simply singing... whatever it was that could come out of my mouth, I sang the line, 'We can treasure what we find, and make it golden in our minds.' You see, our art shows us more about who we are than we even know."
They started up the hill
With their young lives exploding still
They loved to dream and run
They had the grass and the trees and the sun
They dreamed of the gold they'd find
(They dreamed of the gold)
At the top of the hill as they climbed
No one would ever doubt
Their spirit and strength would ever run out
There they go
But the hill was steep and long
They never thought they'd be wrong
But it wasn't a hill at all
It was a mountain ten thousand feet tall
But with the gold still in their minds
They used their young lust to climb and climb
And by the time they got to the peak
They were old and they were weak
There was no gold that they could find
It was all just in their minds
They had dreamed and they had run
They found the grass and the trees and the sun (trees)
They said, "What do we do now?" (what do we do now)
Spend the rest of our lives climbing back down
(Climbing back down)
Or we could treasure what we find
And make it golden in our minds
Mmm, hmm
That's what we'll do
With their young lives exploding still
They loved to dream and run
They had the grass and the trees and the sun
They dreamed of the gold they'd find
(They dreamed of the gold)
At the top of the hill as they climbed
No one would ever doubt
Their spirit and strength would ever run out
There they go
They never thought they'd be wrong
But it wasn't a hill at all
It was a mountain ten thousand feet tall
But with the gold still in their minds
They used their young lust to climb and climb
And by the time they got to the peak
They were old and they were weak
It was all just in their minds
They had dreamed and they had run
They found the grass and the trees and the sun (trees)
They said, "What do we do now?" (what do we do now)
Spend the rest of our lives climbing back down
(Climbing back down)
Or we could treasure what we find
And make it golden in our minds
Mmm, hmm
That's what we'll do
Discography Appearances
Singles-EPs
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Flaming Lips Compilations
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Alternate Versions
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