Music Friday: Jake Owen’s ‘Days of Gold’ Celebrates a Sensational Southern Summer

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, country star Jake Owen celebrates a sensational Southern summer in his 2013 release, “Days of Gold.”

Owen reminisces about the days of yesteryear when he could hang out with good friends, drive his long-bed truck, sip ice-cold beer and feel the sun beating down on his skin.

He sings, “Beers ice cold and got a pretty little lady to hold / Southern summer and that sun shining down like Daddy’s silver dollar / Gotta hop on the old dirt road to the days of gold.”

The 38-year-old Owen explained to songfacts.com that “the days of gold are the good times… the times we remember, the times we reflect on. I’ll always look back on my life and remember these days… the days of gold!”

“Days of Gold” was written and released in 2012 by Jaren Johnston and Neil Mason of the music group, The Cadillac Three. Owen liked the song so much, he asked the writers if he could cover it for his next album. Owen’s rendition quickly climbed to #19 on Billboard’s U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and #28 on the Canada Country chart. Its instant success was helped along by the singer’s appearance on NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, where he performed the song live.

“Growing up in Florida and being someone who was used to always living in the sunshine… I thought it was really important to have a song that personified that,” Owen told radio.com. “[And] just with the melodic structure and the tempo of that song, it seemed very conducive for the kind of atmosphere I want to have at my concerts.”

The title track from Owen’s fourth studio album, “Days of Gold” has earned critical acclaim. Taste of Country music reviewer Billy Dukes wrote that “Days of Gold” isn’t a song, it’s a statement. “Words like ‘uptempo’ or ‘rockin’ don’t even begin to describe the pace the singer keeps up for over three spellbinding minutes,” he wrote.

The Vero Beach, Fla., native first captured the national spotlight with his hits “Startin’ With Me,” “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You” and “Eight Second Ride.” He earned a Grammy nomination in 2008 and was named the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Vocalist in 2009.

Owen has toured with chart-topping country artists Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town, Sugarland, Keith Urban and Jason Aldean.

Trivia: Owen’s dream of becoming a professional golfer was sidelined when he was injured in a wakeboarding accident. During his recovery from reconstructive surgery, he borrowed a neighbor’s guitar and taught himself how to play. The rest is history.

Please check out the video of Owen’s rendition of “Days of Gold.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.

“Days of Gold”
Written by Jaren Johnston and Neil Mason. Performed by Jake Owen.

Long truck bed hop in it, fire engine red like her lipstick
Out here we can let it go
But just me and my good friends
Jug of wine, a little sip
Out here baby you just never know

Yeah, these are the days of gold
Well it’s a Southern summer, whiskey’s in the air, dogs on the burner
Beer’s ice cold and got a pretty little lady to hold
Southern summer and that sun shining down like Daddy’s silver dollar
Gotta hop on the old dirt road to the days of gold

A little July sky so high, moon shine by the riverside
Stealing hearts and running wild
Yeah our own world, Tennessee boys and girls running free out here it’s good times for miles
Yeah, these are the days of gold

Well it’s a Southern summer, whiskey’s in the air, dogs on the burner
Beer’s ice cold and got a pretty little lady to hold
Southern summer and that sun shining down like Daddy’s silver dollar
Gotta hop on the old dirt road to the days of gold

A little bit of you, a little bit of me
What you wanna do, what’s it’s gonna be
We can get wild, we can live free
Or you can shake it for me baby like a tambourine
Slice of watermelon and you spit the seeds

Sweat on your back stickin’ to the seats
We can take off and beat the heat
I’ll be buzzin’ on you honey like a bumblebee

Yeah it’s a Southern summer, whiskey’s in the air dogs on the burner
Beer’s ice cold and got a pretty little lady to hold
Southern summer and that sun shining down like Daddy’s silver dollar
Gotta hop on the old dirt road to the days of gold

Credit: Photo by Lunchbox LP / CC BY.

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