Music Friday: Twenty One Pilots' Tyler Joseph Dedicates 'House of Gold' to Mom

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Twenty One Pilots’ frontman Tyler Joseph delivers a heartfelt tribute to his mom in the 2013 release, “House of Gold.”

In this song about the fear of growing old, Joseph’s mom asks her singer/songwriter son if he’ll take care of her in her twilight years. Written as an exchange between Joseph and his mom, he sings, “She asked me, ‘Son, when I grow old / Will you buy me a house of gold? / And when your father turns to stone / Will you take care of me?'”

The devoted son responds that he will not only make her the “Queen of everything you see,” but he’ll also bring her fame and cure her of disease.

Joseph told British Rock Sound magazine that he wrote the song to express his love for his mother, but didn't reveal "exactly" what the song was about because it would leave him "a little too vulnerable."

"But I love my mom very much and I want to always be there for her, like she was for me, and this song is about that," he said.

Initially appearing as a bonus track on Twenty One Pilots’ second studio album, Regional at Best, “House of Gold” became the fourth track of the indie pop group’s third studio album, Vessel. The song, which features Joseph on the ukulele and bandmate Josh Dun on the drums, became a top-10 hit on Billboard‘s US Alternative Songs chart and was certified "platinum" with more than one million digital downloads.

Twenty One Pilots performed "House of Gold" on Conan in their late night debut. The date was August 8, 2013.

The album ascended to #21 on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold more than 500,000 copies. Vessel was re-released as a limited-edition vinyl boxset in early 2023 on the occasion of its 10 anniversary.

The name Twenty One Pilots was derived from an Arthur Miller play called All My Sons, in which a World War II contractor knowingly delivers defective airplane parts, reasoning that fixing the problems would be too costly. The tragic result is the loss of 21 pilots. Apparently, the bandmates were inspired by the lessons of the story — to avoid shortcuts and always act with integrity.

Hailing from Columbus, OH, Twenty One Pilots’ early fan base was made up of Ohio State University students.

The video below was shot in 2013 for The Live Room at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, CA. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“House of Gold”
Written by Tyler Joseph. Performed by Twenty One Pilots.

She asked me, “Son, when I grow old,
Will you buy me a house of gold?
And when your father turns to stone,
Will you take care of me?”

She asked me, “Son, when I grow old,
Will you buy me a house of gold?
And when your father turns to stone,
Will you take care of me?”

I will make you
Queen of everything you see
I’ll put you on the map
I’ll cure you of disease

Let’s say we up and left this town
And turned our future upside down
We’ll make pretend that you and me
Lived ever after, happily

She asked me, “Son, when I grow old,
Will you buy me a house of gold?
And when your father turns to stone,
Will you take care of me?”

I will make you
Queen of everything you see
I’ll put you on the map
I’ll cure you of disease

And since we know that dreams are dead
And life turns plans up on their head
I will plan to be a bum
So I just might become someone

She asked me, “Son, when I grow old,
Will you buy me a house of gold?
And when your father turns to stone,
Will you take care of me?”

I will make you
Queen of everything you see
I’ll put you on the map
I’ll cure you of disease

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube / Songkick.

Spessartine Garnets Are the Fiery Orange Variety of January's Birthstone

Imbued with the hues of a summer sunset, spessartine garnets are the fiery orange variety of garnet, January's official birthstone. The wonderfully versatile garnet comes in a wide array of natural colors, including red, yellow, pink, purple, violet, green, black and brown.

The 19.77-carat spessartine garnet shown, above, is part of the Smithsonian's National Gem Collection and is housed in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. A gift from Edward W. Boehm in 2008, the specimen was sourced in Zambia and ranks as the finest spessartine in the collection.

Spessartine's orange color is attributed to its particularly high manganese content. The purest and most intensely orange varieties are often referred to as "mandarin garnets" and are mined primarily in Madagascar.

According to the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), the first mandarin garnets were discovered along the hilly border between Namibia and Angola back in 1991. Until then, spessartines had been found in other countries, but were favored by collectors and hardly used in jewelry. This is because specimens of excellent color and clarity were extremely rare.

But the crystals found in Namibia were, indeed, jewelry worthy. ICA states that the raw crystals quickly found their way into the cutting centers and onto the market. Within a short time, however, the mine was exhausted and production ground to a halt.

According to the Smithsonian, gem-quality spessartine comes mainly from Sri Lanka and Brazil, while other important localities include Australia, Burma, India, Israel, Madagascar, Zambia, Nigeria, Namibia and the US.

In addition to today’s featured spessartine garnets, other varieties often seen in jewelry include almandine, andradite, demantoid, grossularite, hessonite, rhodolite, tsavorite and uvarovite.

Garnets get their name from the Latin word “granatum,” meaning pomegranate seed. The beautifully red seeds of a pomegranate closely resemble rhodolite garnet.

Credits: Cabochon spessartine by Ken Larsen / Smithsonian. Spessartine crystals by Géry PARENT, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Newly Engaged 'Wheel of Fortune' Contestant Bungles Obvious Solution

If you're one of the more than eight million viewers who tune into Wheel of Fortune every night, you witnessed in real time what might be the worst blunder of the syndicated show's 41 seasons. If you did not see the December 22 episode, here's what went down — and, yes, there is a jewelry connection.

During Pat Sajak's introduction of contestant Gwen Hardy, we learned that the US Navy flight surgeon from Yuma, AZ, had recently accepted her now-fiancé's marriage proposal on top of a mountain during a 100-mile hike through the Alps.

Then, moments later, with all the vowels bought up and only three letters remaining in a puzzle that read, “SURPRISE _ARRIA_E PROPOSA_”, Hardy confidently told Sajak that she was ready to solve. Slam dunk? Right?

Without hesitation, she blurted out "Surprise Carriage Proposal."

Sajak was silent, the buzzer sounded, the studio audience groaned and Hardy hung her head in shame, realizing her epic mistake. The correct answer would have earned her $8,250.

“I know," Sajak finally interjected. "Sometimes you get excited and your mouth doesn’t say what your brain intended. I’m sorry.”

Instead, Ron Panner, a therapist and amateur magician from Shorewood, IL, guessed "Surprise Marriage Proposal" and won the round.

Later, Sajak tried to lighten the load of Hardy's emotional trauma on national TV, stating, “Well, you know, you watch the show, and stuff happens like that sometimes. But here’s the rule, and you know this, Gwen, as a flight surgeon, put that behind you. That’s done, nothing you can do.”

Fans of the show weren't as empathetic as the popular host, expressing on X (formerly Twitter) that Hardy's goof-up was one for the ages.

One user commented, “Can anybody recommend a good carriage counselor?” while another wrote, “Can’t wait for my partner to surprise me with a carriage proposal!”

Despite her cringeworthy mistake, Hardy still took home a very respectable $11,150 in winnings.

Host Sajak, 77, is finishing out his final season on Wheel of Fortune, where he's shared the spotlight with letter-turner Vanna White since 1982. White will be working with the new host, Ryan Seacrest.

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.