All that glitters is gold

Melissa Ann Howell Schier
5 min readSep 11, 2023

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painting I am working on

“There’s a lady whose sure, all that glitters is gold, and she’s buying the stair way to heaven.
When she gets there she knows if the stores are all closed, with a word she can get what she came for”.

What the heck does that mean?
People can’t “buy” heaven. Not only that, if someone has “bought it” that is slang for they be DEAD.
The secret I THINK, to the meaning in those lyrics is the part that says, “with a word”.
“WITH A WORD” she can get what she came for.
“The WORD” is what we read in the bible.
“THE WORD” is behaviors that are good, that set a good example, like Jesus did.

Or the song could mean that the lady is dead because she just lived for money and fame, and is NOT supposed to be dead, which is why the stores are all closed when she gets to heaven. HMMMM which word is the right word meaning for this song.

Understanding which is the meaning of the RIGHT Words, is important. I think that RIGHT words are how the lady, makes good behaviors glitter. She is not dead, because the bible says that the kingdom of heaven is “at hand”, in other words, it can be here right now. We do not have to die to experience it.

SO, If our “influence to do good” affects even just ONE person in a positive way, that person becomes a “step” for us towards heaven. Our behavior should be SO BRIGHT that it GLITTERS. That is what I think that song means.
When things are shiny, they are appealing, however this makes them attractive not just to us but to children and so we have to pay attention to things that seem “easy to swallow” literally and metaphorically. Ironically it is not so easy to get adults to “swallow” the good book, or something that is good for them, and in contrast it is easy to get kids to put all kinds of things in their mouths including things that are bad for them.
Shiny coins, or little colorful pills, are all things babies love to put in their mouth, but these things are not what the baby needs. Babies have no use for most things that adults think are shiny and appealing…they have no use for money, drugs alcohol or fast cars. But we all have a use for what a baby needs, the unconditional love of their father and mother…that is what we find in the good book, with the right words.

Loving behaviors accompanied by affirming words, given to our children, are our first steps towards “experiencing heaven” as adults. As children we take steps towards heaven almost immediately, because innate in little ones, are behaviors that bring people closer to God. Innocence, purity, and beauty are all qualities of babies that are good and God like.

Once people grow up, and become ladies and gentlemen, though, it seems more difficult, to take steps towards heaven. As adults, and in this song, as a lady, we would not want to be accused on judgement day, of giving someone a pill or giving them coin, when what they needed was love or attention.

The right choice to exercise good judgement and use good behaviors ourselves, are things that we can easily learn from the bible and from attending church and this is how we make good values such as discipline, industriousness, achievement, compassion and generosity, “GLITTER” for others to see and emulate.

If our behavior is good, or if our words are good and true, those behaviors and words “glitter”. When we can help others notice and “swallow” the words that we are producing, and they are convinced, then we have helped them step closer to heaven too. The word, is how we motivate people to take steps to help themselves.
Babies naturally want to take steps and want to swallow milk and honey. These unconscious things that are innate in babies eventually only happen to adults, when the consciously make good decisions. We see lots of capable adults “buying” wrong words and making bad choices. We can see them choosing to be immobile, to lay by the side of the road, and to ignore the good words and instead swallow the pills, or alcohol or greed, that puts self will over God’s will.

Pills do not glitter (at least not yet), but for some reason people think that they are easier to swallow than the good word which encourages them to “walk the walk” and be an inspiration to others.
The stairway to heaven is found NOT in those human “solutions” such as alcohol or pills, but is in the words that we speak to help others, helping them to also do good and make restitution. It is not enough to help ourselves, because “the steps” in the stairway to heaven, are all the OTHERS we have helped in our lives.

I heard a quote somewhere that “the only power that we have is the good that we do”.
The “power” to ascend, or take steps towards heaven comes from right thoughts, words and deeds. Think about all the good Jesus did and how he just flat out “ascended”. That is a lot of good deeds.

I think that the part of the song that says “if there is a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now, there's still time to change the road your on” is talking specifically to an individual.
The bustle can mean activity, but it can also mean clothing : a pad or framework expanding and supporting the fullness and drapery of the back of a woman’s skirt or dress.
The song says that the lady is buying heaven, and we do not know in the song version, if she IS, or IS NOT going to end up in heaven, but we know also that the lady cannot herself be bought.
Each individual has to do good of their own accord and cannot get into heaven on a free ride on someone’s coattails or under the under the skirts of any lady. (LOL) Actually pretty funny when you think about it. Illicit behavior… I think, steps us in the wrong direction actually.

Where your treasure is, there your heart is also. Is our treasure gold, power, influence, control or substances, and are these things taking us in a positive direction?

Saying the lady is “buying” the stairway to heaven I think is actually a bit of sarcasm …and also a kind of a play on words. In fact the song even says that sometimes words have two meanings; the wrong meaning, and the right meaning.

I read yesterday that people want to introduce AI to Pharmaceuticals. LOL.
Somebody done fell down the stairs. lol.

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Melissa Ann Howell Schier
Melissa Ann Howell Schier

Written by Melissa Ann Howell Schier

HoustonWorkout on YouTube, mom of five, journalist and artist and conservative who values life.