His song “Suffer” from his critically acclaimed album Best of Our Possible Lives enjoyed 8 weeks on Canada’s Alternative Rock Chart earlier this year. But his rise does not stop there. Boy Golden is back with a new stripped-down version of “Suffer.” The combination of organic vocals with exquisite guitar acoustics and a warm-toned harmonica in this rendition will make listeners fall in love with the song all over again.
With this acoustic version, Boy Golden brings a new priority to the lyrics themselves, tying us together as humans and using Buddhist philosophy and ideology to express the extent to which we can suffer. The smoothness and blissfulness of the melody are the perfect mix to draw listeners into this new variant of the single.
Boy Golden shares his own thoughts about his single,
“From the moment I wrote “Suffer”, I knew it had power. When I heard the rough mix, I knew it should be the first song on my new record Best of Our Possible Lives, and the first single we released.
I also knew that this song had the potential to be controversial, largely because of the line “I want a new fucking president”. I was right. Now that the song has been out for half a year, I want to talk about some of the conversations I’ve had around this song, and how the political climate has affected them.
In my record label’s boardroom, I was making the case for “Suffer” as the first single. The first single is important. It sets the tone.
Right away, there were flags. The radio team in the US and my label felt that the song couldn’t be pitched to American radio. At the time of this discussion, Trump and his DOGE goons were slashing funds for programs they didn’t like, and public radio was on the chopping block. The Trump administration was cultivating an atmosphere of fear, and stations rightly worried that playing “Suffer” could draw the ire of the administration and further impact their funding.
There were also concerns that I would come off as smug sounding, being a Canadian commenting on American politics. Various options were tabled, from choosing a different song as a single, to changing the offending line.
In the end, the label agreed that the song had power and it was the right time for it to come out. In Canada, it ended up at #1 on alternative radio for nine weeks, and remains in the top ten. In America, we didn’t take it to radio, but we still pitched the song to DSPs.
The culture of fear around art and entertainment persists. These are the conversations that fascistic governments force artists and the people around them to have; is it safe to say this? Am I putting my own, or other people’s livelihoods at risk?
At live shows, the song rarely fails to hit home. I’ve played this song at dozens and dozens of shows and whether I’m playing in Canada or America, the song grabs people and resonates with them.
For many people, the line ‘I want a new fucking president” strikes a chord, because people are suffering under this administration and many people want change.
The preceding line “I wanna know where my money went” also strikes a chord. Trump and his family have been grifting the public to the tune of billions from the moment he took office. The public’s money is being spent on a war that nobody wants, and which is driving up gas prices around the world, which is in turn driving up the prices of everything.
Many working people who were already struggling to make ends meet are now struggling even more. Seeing the public cruelty on the streets of Minneapolis and New York, LA, Chicago, watching a genocide unfold in Gaza, watching multi-million dollar bombs destroy a school is enough to make people wonder “where is my money going?”.
I had a conversation with a fan in Bend, Oregon – she noted that while the song resonated with her for the same reasons it resonates with me, she felt her more conservative family would resonate with the song for different reasons entirely. A commenter on YouTube put it like this: “This guy looks like a lib but he’s saying conservative stuff… I don’t get it.”
Ironically, the line “I want a new fucking president” was not written about my literal feelings at the time. Joe Biden was the president at the time. He was fine, in comparison.
The song reflects what I am seeing in the world. What I see in the world is working people being squeezed by inflation. I see the rich getting richer, and everyone else suffering. When writing it, I was noticing the tendency to direct suffering straight to the top – because everyone always wants a new fucking president, or prime minister, or whatever. If you vote one person into office, there are millions who voted the other way. Either way, we all suffer.
That said, I really do want a new fucking president. The suffering of so many, particularly that of the working class of all races and creeds, has worsened dramatically. The song felt strong and timeless from the moment I wrote it, but it feels timelier than ever.
Today, I am presenting an acoustic demo of “Suffer”. I don’t think this song is done working in the world, and now, with a little more wind at my back, I’m giving it a second look.
We all suffer, and I stand with you.”
Boy Golden is an up-and-coming artist who has grabbed everyone’s attention. He found a home for his musical ambition in Winnipeg thanks to the area’s creative musicality and songwriting scene. Creative and earnest, Boy Golden is becoming a transformative voice in the music industry, with no intent of stopping, and has become a light on the most popular festival stages like Bonnaroo and Americanafest. Golden’s ability to draw his audience in with his unique lyrics and addictive melodies will no doubt be the reason for his continued rise in the industry.
Boy Golden’s “Suffer – Acoustic” is out now, and readers can take a listen below.
Boy Golden will hit the stage this upcoming festival season:
- June 27 – Sisters, OR – Big Ponderoo
- July 2 – Quincy, CA – High Sierra Music Festival
- July 11 – Saint Paul, MN – Minnesota Country Club Festival
- July 30 – Aug 2 – Happy Valley, OR – Pickathon
Follow Boy Golden: Instagram // TikTok // Facebook // Spotify
