Released January 1979 Recorded 1978 Length 2:28 | Format 7" Genre Country Label RCA Records
11427 | |
"Golden Tears" is a song written by John Schweers, and recorded by American country music trio Dave & Sugar. It was released in January 1979 as the first single and partial title track from the album Stay with me/Golden Tears. The song was the group's third and final No. 1 hit on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.
Background
Country music journalist Tom Roland called "Golden Tears" a "highly coindental release." Dave & Sugar frontman Dave Rowland, it seemed, had driven Chevrolets for most of his life, including the early period of Dave & Sugar's national success. However, Rowland had just purchased a new Lincoln when he heard the demo tape for the song. The song's first line in the refrain: "From a Chevy to a Lincoln ... ."
The song is about a woman who marries a rich man for his money, but quickly realizes that money does not necessarily buy happiness. In one sense, it is also about life in the fast lane and, as Roland put it, "supported the adage, 'it's lonely at the top.'"
Of Dave & Sugar's three No. 1 songs, "Golden Tears" was the only multi-week chart-topper, spending three weeks at No. 1 in March. The trio enjoyed several more top 10 singles thereafter before beginning to fade in popularity during the early 1980s.