Set me free, set me free
Is this what you wanted to happen to me?
Golden wings in the sunset
Take me back
All alone I waited
There was no one to be there

There were dreams to be sold, yeah
You're like my 24 karat gold
Chain of chains, yeah

There was some love to be shown
They said you might be comin' back to town
Said you might be comin' back to town

Let me be, set me free
All alone I waited
There was no one to be there
In the rain she lay face-down
What is this freedom that she wanted?
What kind of freedom?
What kind of game?
What kind of freedom?
What kind of game?

There were some dreams to be sold
My dreams, my 24 karat
My 24 karat, my 24 karat gold
Chain of chains

Is this what you wanted?
Oh, but he was nowhere to be found
Here comes the cold chill

Ooh, 24 karat chain
Chain of chains
24 karat chain
Chain of chains

But there was some love to be shown
Ooh, you're like my 24 karat gold
Chain of chains, yeah
There were some islands to be found
They said that you might be comin' back to town
Ooh, you might be comin' back to town, ooh

Set me free
Is this what you wanted to happen to me?
Golden wings in the sunset
Take me back
All alone I waited
But there was no one to be there, ooh

And there is a world that rises in
Beside the wind rolls
And there is a world that rises
Within the wind rolls
Set me free
Set me free....

---

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

I think she's comparing Lindsey to a "24 Karat Gold" chain because of his controlling nature and because of the fact that she can't shake him: she's still connected to him even though she's left him. "Dreams to be sold" recalls the song Dreams that she wrote about their breakup - "have you any dreams you'd like to sell?" And then of course, the "chain of chains" recalls the song of the same name, The Chain.

This song seems to me to be about sex versus love, and how the physical connection she has with Lindsey "chains" her to him despite her desire for "freedom." First off, she says "He was nowhere to be found" and then says "here comes the cold chill." It reminds me of "You'll forget the chill of love but not the strain" from Planets of the Universe. I think she uses chill often in the context of the physical sensations of sex, and so here she's saying that she has the sex but not the love. She wanted Lindsey to set her free, but he won't let her be. There's still a connection between them, but it's purely physical. It makes Stevie unhappy because she's not really free as long as they do that. "What kind of freedom?" Or is it some kind of game? And since Lindsey still can make her physically desire him, she still sits alone and waits for him - that relationship still takes her back.

I really like the vivid image called up by the phrase "in the rain she lay face-down" - very effective and communicative of the despairing tone of the song. She can't break the chain.

Want to speculate about "24 Karat Gold"?
E-mail me and I'll post your comments.