About The Song: GOLDEN STATE
There’s an underlying theme on this album of feeling lost or on my own. Funny how that happened before I decided to do the album myself. It’s as if all these moments found their way to the James that I am at this exact moment. Writing about the things you are insecure about opens you up in a way that forces you to be stronger. I sit with these songs daily, playing the recordings & building them on guitar, which has allowed me to grow beyond & rise above the emotions that initially inspired them.
When I’m on tour with Quiet Riot I’m all over the country all the time. The majority of what we play are called “Fly Dates” as we’re always flying to our shows, in and out of time zones & airports. When you’re there you know where you are but after a few days have passed, other than the show, you can’t really remember where you were or when it was. One such instance, though I couldn’t tell you which one cuz I don’t remember lol, inspired me to write the song “Golden State”.
VERSE 1 ’I’m hours forward but days behind A thunder stricken state of mind Wifi codes & check out times See, I’ve lost all track of county lines
When the sky’s ablaze & it catches my eyes To whom I owe this here surprise? It’s another dream but I can’t decide Do I need a call, need a hand or need to realize?
CHORUS That I’m on my way – Can I catch a ride? To the Golden State or a Golden State of mind I think I’ll find….
VERSE 2 Where the West coast winds that breathe my name It’s like I’ve heard a voice and I’ve gone insane Won’t you take me back to memory lane Cuz the days of new don’t feel the same way I said the days of new don’t feel the same
CHORUS Yeah I’m on my way – Can I catch a ride? To the Golden State or a Golden State of mind Well, I think I’m fine – I’ll be alright And only time can heal a Golden State of mind’
Really all I was writing about was wanting to be home. At the time that was home in Santa Cruz, CA. California being the Golden State :) The more I think about it I start to remember around the time I wrote this song. I believe it was October 2017. It’s coming back to me lol. We had just decide on our move to Nashville which would be the following April, 2018. At that time I was feeling strange emotions, thinking about moving away from my homeland and home state. I wrote exactly what I was feeling when I was feeling it. I consider this a “Road Song”. I don’t recall if I necessarily wrote it on the road like I did with some other songs, never the less, it evokes all of those same feelings.
-James
