Band of Gold , Freda Payne, intriguing choice of topic

When I was a kid, I never paid attention to the lyrics of this song , especially the part where Freda Payne sings about her honeymoon night. Thought it was a great melody with a wistful , melancholic tone. One day, I just happened to listen a tad more carefully and was surprised at how directly it addresses the lack of intimacy on the wedding night even though the finalized version that got released edited out a couple of passages. So the listener is left to assume the husband is either gay or impotent.

Freda Payne supposedly wasnt enamored to sing it because her interpretation was that it was a song that should be sung by a teenager and about being inexperienced in sexual matters. And interviews with one of the writers indicate that earlier studio versions had extra lyrics that alluded to the same interpretation. But what counts is the final version. And in the version we hear, it is clear the issue in the song is that the lack of intimacy is mainly because of the husband.

Now , if the song was about the husband being in the closet about his sexuality, you have had other catchy songs about it - Johnny, Are you Queer being one of the more famous ones.

But if it was about impotence, that's a pretty rare topic to cover in a motownish style song with a sweet melody. And it's not even alluded to in a very subtle way.

FREDA PAYNE AND THE OTHER FEMALE ONE HIT WONDERS IN THE 70s.
Now, as far as Freda Payne is concerned. HOw the hell did she not get more success? Not only does she deliver the vocals , she is gorgeous. It seems like the 70s had a lot of these great female singers who ended up being one hit or two hit wonders - Maxine Nightengale, Aimee Stewart(can you imagine if her fantastic performance in the Knock on Wood video came out in the MTV era?), Fontella Bass(whose hit gets mistaken for an Aretha Franklin song by many), etc. in the same era where mediocre female singers found plenty of success.

Freda Payne - Band Of Gold (Stereo) - YouTube

 

I’ve been hearing the song for fifty years and never got what you’re saying out of it. Can you be more lyrically specific??

 

I was listening a lot to Freda Payne in 1970 when I first became a music fan...she had several other hits at the time that got a lot of play on radio that are rarely revived now...off the top of my head there were:

Cherish What is Dear to You
Bring the Boys Home (a topical anti-war song)
Deeper and Deeper

 

Good post, great points!!

 

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?

 

I always understood that it was a got married, off to war song/died at war (Viet Nam) song

Freda Payne: Band of Gold

 

He's either gay or perhaps got her pregnant and it's a shotgun wedding. Probably he's gay though.

I don't see another explaination.

"But that night on our honeymoon, We stayed in separate rooms" - pretty clear

"Hoping soon, That you'll walk back through that door, And love me like you tried before"

So he's not gone off her and he didn't consummate the marriage it seems. He tried to make it work but he realised he couldn't and left. It doesn't read like a failed relationship, just one that never got started.

I guess this type of thing was a bit taboo at the time.

 

The best non-Motown Motown song?

 

Great song, fabulous singer and a stunning looking lady then and now.

 

I never listened to the lyrics that closely, I just thought it was a general type of break up song (I was 13 when it came out so it was probably a bit over my head). But I remember loving the faux-sitar that opens the song!

Edit: Just discovered that the electric sitar was played by Dennis Coffey.

 

The alternate version adds a little substance.

"And the memories of our wedding day, and the night I turned you away"

"Each night I lie awake and I tell myself, the vows we made gave you the right to have a love each night"

 

There were some lyrics that were cut from the song, supposedly to make it a shorter, tighter single, that imply that she was the one who turned him away because she was too ignorant about sex and didn't know what was going on. That's apparently why Freda thought the song was inappropriate for a woman of her age and thought it would be better suited to a singer closer to her teenage years. It's explained in the Wiki article.

Band of Gold (Freda Payne song) - Wikipedia

 

Sounds like she married a pimp, or a polygamist, to me.
Although I admit I never contemplated the lyrics much.
Great song and vocal on that one. Thats for sure.

 

I never thought a lot about the lyrics to "Band of Gold"; I just interpreted as being that on the honeymoon night they had a big argument about something, and it killed the relationship.

Thinking further, the first two lines suggest that the protagonist was pretty ignorant about matters sexual, and there may have been a mismatch between what the husband expected and what she felt able to deliver.
Another possibility is that after the wedding he got falling down drunk and couldn't "perform" - something that would have been rather confusing and maybe traumatic for the woman.

On the other hand there may simply have been an argument about something else entirely, something they had never sorted out before the wedding.

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Re Amii Stewart (that's how she spells it): her version of "Knock on Wood" was the first I had heard of that song, and when I heard the original some time later, I was appalled at how plodding and pedestrian it sounded by comparison with her version. She gave the song some much-needed energy.

 

I think the edited down version that got released makes the song more haunting because it leaves some ambiguity to why it didn't happen instead of the slightly more straightforward earlier version.

Also, the way the song is sung, it seems like it was not just a one off incident. Because if it were, it would need a more comical self aware tone . Maybe something DOlly Parton(the 80s era version of Dolloy could make a song about. It comes across as if not only did it not get consummated, there is regret because it never got consummated even if the lyrics do not explicitly say that.

 

I read the lyrics prior to posting previously. It may be as you say in accordance to what the lyricist meant. But it can be taken any number of ways.

 

I am glad they didnt release that version. Musically too, it's not as tight as the released version in addition to the song being less interesting if it was just about a naive chick.

 

That middle section is very odd. The lyrics are terrible as well. Quite glad they changed it as I love that song. The video in Holland(?) of her lipsyncing with the bizarre dancers is great.

 

Seems like another case of my being a very poor listener.

 

Maybe it was Johnny Mathis tryna put that ring on her finger?

 

Eddie Floyd's Knock On Wood is a classic 60's soul track. You have very poor taste lol. The album is also pretty solid, it's regarded as a classic soul album.

 

If I was off to 'nam the next day, I don't think I'd be in a "separate room" letting this get cold, ya feel me?

 

For those maybe interested, there’s a great new triple compilation CD (or LP), “Holland-Dozier-Holland, Detroit 1969-1977” featuring the writer/producers post-Motown period, and including the likes of Freda Payne, Honey Cone, Chairmen of the Board, and Laura Lee. Terrific acts. Some great cuts. It features 6 Freda tracks, Band of Gold, Unhooked Generation, Deeper and Deeper, Bring the Boys Home, You Brought the Joy, and Cherish What is Dear to You. In its review, 8/10, Uncut describes the lyrics to Band of Gold as intriguingly ambiguous, which seems to me as good as a way as any of describing them. Still probably the best ever “Motown” single not made on or by Motown.

 

Band Of Gold was recorded by Freda Payne and released on INVICTUS Records. This is one of the labels established by the legendary Motown songwriting trio Holland Dozier Holland following their acrimonious split from Motown. HDH saw Freda as their replacement for Diana Ross, expecting her to be the next black female superstar.
HDH had a major hand in the record- much speculation that they actually were the writers but used pseudonyms due to contractural difficulties.
The record was a massive No1 in the UK late 1970 and reached No3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Freda was an established jazz vocalist prior to signing with Invictus and at one point in the early 60s almost signed to Motown (her mother put a stop to it!).
Freda was far from a "1 hit wonder". She scored several more hits and released a number of albums throughout her long career. She is still performing today.

 

BEWARE! There are actually better and much cheaper HDH post Motown compilations available!