"Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)" is a song co-written and recorded by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist
Dan Seals
Danny Wayland Seals (February 8, 1948 – March 25, 2009) was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals and Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley, who charted ...
. It was released in March 1986 as the third single from the album ''
Won't Be Blue Anymore
''Won't Be Blue Anymore'' is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Dan Seals. It was his most successful studio album; the only one to reach No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. The album featured some of Seals most popular son ...
''. It peaked at number one in both the United States and Canada. The song was written by Seals and
Bob McDill
Robert Lee McDill (born April 4, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s an ...
.
Content
The song's narrator has an estranged wife popular on the national livestock rodeo circuit who left him alone to raise their daughter Casey. He and Casey compete at various regional rodeo competitions, and the narrator mentions Casey's constant curiosity about her mother throughout their travels. Casey is also approaching puberty, and he falls short of answers to her questions, especially since his wife does not keep in contact with them. Despite the estrangement and the bitterness he now feels, he sometimes remembers wistfully the way he felt about her when he was in love with her, but that he now seemingly believes she wasn't cut out to be a wife and mother.
Music video
Two music videos of the song exist:
The first, a live performance of the song, appeared in 1986 to support the single.
A music video of the song, directed by Neil Abramson, appeared in Seals' video compilation, ''A Portrait'' (1991).
Chart positions
References
1986 singles
1985 songs
Dan Seals songs
Songs written by Bob McDill
Songs written by Dan Seals
Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning
EMI Records singles
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