I’m gunna face my demons, even if it breaks my legs
Even if it breaks my spirit, walking round downtown all day

There are some songs that can carry a load larger than the heart, ones that sustain us with their hope and determination, their lyrics imprinted within us, pulling us through the hardest days to the other side of trying. Boy Golden’s “Here to Stay” is such a song.

From its opening line to its closing notes, “Here to Stay” is an emotional wellspring. Its mainline is about acceptance: who you are and where you’re going, where you’re coming from and deciding that you’re going to live with yourself (day to day, but also in a broader sense of who you are as a person). Even when it came to the actual recording of the song itself, Boy Golden had to make it three times before getting it right.

We all got our own reasons, all got bills to pay
One day son, you’ll get it straight and you won’t have to walk this way

Drawing inspiration from Charles Bukowski’s poetry, the city, and its concrete metaphors, and Boy Golden’s experience as the youngest member of the Manitoba Friends of the Bluebirds (where his grandpa Herb is still a member), “Here to Stay” introduces several themes that come up more than once in Boy Golden’s writing. In the true spirit of folk music, he touches on the struggle to survive under capitalism’s hard shell (“Wake up and place your bets, wake up and wait in line”), trying to crack it (“One day you’ll pay off all your debt, I know it ain’t the time”), and figuring out how to grow outside it all when you’re compacted. Sometimes it’s your friends that get you through and sometimes it’s a change of scenery, but even when “Here to Stay” talks of leaving, the destination isn’t far.

Gunna take my leave of Winnipeg, get myself a place
Off of Highway 5, Mountain Road, someday but not today
Find myself some peace of mind, just behind my eyes
There’s a bluebird waiting to sing her song, and I’m gunna let her fly

Accompanied by the natural acoustics of banjo, 12 string guitar and tambourine, Boy Golden’s lyrics are as clear and pure as a birdsong. When a concept this simple is as strong as the human spirit, it doesn’t need much else to lift it up or to help make its point. It can find its way freely to you and you to it, if your eyes and heart are open.

Grab a drink, come on by, any time you’re getting high
Place your bets and get it line, even losers get to try
From time to time we’ll get it right

A song is a feeling that is passed from one soul to another, helping us to stay present, even in moments when it feels like all hell is about to break loose or you just can’t stand the sight of yourself. As “Here to Stay” breaks into its friendly chorus, it spreads a smile like wings, its brightness and jubilance celebrating life being lived. For the days when you can’t say it, and for the days when you need to hear it, “Here to Stay” offers up an incantation, a hymn to help us accept ourselves, even with the imperfections: “Here I am despite my plans, I think I’m here to stay.”

THE HORIZON LINE PLAYLIST:
Listen to this week's Horizon Line playlist inspired Boy Golden's "Here To Stay".