The musical style of "Golden Years", the first track recorded for the album, built on the funk and soul of "Young Americans" but with a harsher, grinding edge. It has been described as carrying with it "an air of regret for missed opportunities and past pleasures". Bowie said that it was written for—and rejected by—Elvis Presley, while Bowie's wife at the time Angie claimed it was penned for her. Though a top ten single on both sides of the Atlantic, it was rarely performed live on the subsequent Isolar Tour. "Stay" was another riff-driven funk piece, "recorded very much in our cocaine frenzy", according to Alomar. Its lyrics have been variously interpreted as reflecting on "the uncertainty of sexual conquest", and as an example of "the Duke's spurious romanticism".