The song was used by FX to promote their FX Now app, and by Discovery Channel to promote their show Gold Rush's season 6 premiere.
The Jorgen Odegard remix of the song was featured on the soundtrack of the video game, NBA 2K17.
The song is written in the key of A minor, with a moderate tempo.
Along with "Hopeless Opus" and "I'm So Sorry" on Smoke + Mirrors, the song touches upon lead-singer Dan Reynolds' depression struggles.
Dan Reynolds told Billboard that "Gold" was one of the last songs to be recorded for Smoke + Mirrors: "I came home from tour with my head spinning and decided to run away for a bit to the west coast and reflect/write about the last couple years." He also commented on how listening and performing the song takes him back to the moment of writing the song on the beach.