Golden Child (Alicia Keys song)

"Golden Child" was first published as a poem in Keys's 2004 book Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics. Nearly a decade later, Keys shared the track in December 2013 through her website AKVault, a platform that hosted unreleased live performances, studio recordings, blog posts, and behind-the-scenes content before its closure.^[1] About the track, Keys wrote on the site, "I wrote this song to pull myself up out of a slump I was in. Feelings of not going anywhere, fears of not being able to make it". Originally shared in that medium, the song continued to circulate through unofficial YouTube uploads after the site was deactivated.^[2] The song was later included on a 24-track release issued in December to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of The Diary of Alicia Keys.^[1]

Written and produced by Keys, "Golden Child" features affirming lyrics such as: "You are a golden / You are a golden / You don't have to be afraid / 'Cause time is on your side / And they don't know the power you possess or the beauty that's inside".^[3]