Neil Young performs ‘Silver and Gold’ for the first time in almost 20 years
When you boast a discography as broad and enduring as Neil Young‘s, some songs naturally fall by the wayside in favour of more popular efforts. However, a truly great track is bound to come back around eventually, as is the case with ‘Silver and Gold’. With origins going back to the early 1980s, Young has not performed the song to a live audience since 2007. However, he treated fans to a special rendition of the song on Christmas Day.
Originally, Young penned the earliest version of the song in 1981, but it did not see widespread release until decades later, on his 25th studio album Silver & Gold in the year 2000. Around the time of its mainstream release, Young provided an insight into the strange history of the song, “I really recorded, I think, a total of 11 times with different people in all kinds of different configurations. And we got ’em all. None of them are worth listening to.”
Eventually, though, Young landed upon a version of the song that was fit for release. “But this one here finally just got back to the roots of it and just sat down with my guitar and played it and said, ‘That’s it,’” he told KGSR Radio. “Because I love the song, and I feel the song now, and it means something to me now.”
Seemingly, the song means enough to Young for the legendary songwriter to record a social media video playing ‘Silver and Gold’ to share with his audience on Christmas Day. On his official channels, Young shared the new rendition of the track along with the caption, “Sending love to you”.
The song makes for a fitting Christmas message, with its repeated lyrics, “’Cause our kind of love never seems to get old, it’s better than silver and gold,” reflecting the peace and goodwill message of the holiday period. The online performance also affirms that the songwriter has not lost his performing prowess, even as he approaches his 80th year on Earth.
2024 has been a fairly busy year for Neil Young, with the former Buffalo Springfield musician releasing Early Daze, an album that was recorded all the way back in 1969. To accompany that long-awaited record, Young also performed a handful of live shows in the United States and his native Canada.
Perhaps, as we enter 2025, Young will continue to revisit and reappraise a variety of his older material. The fact that these songs and albums continue to resonate with audiences decades after their initial release is reflective of the timeless appeal of Neil Young as a songwriter.
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