Five GOLDEN Rings - A Holiday Post

"Back in the day," the fifth verse of the Twelve Days of Christmas was a resounding "Five Golden RIngs!"  Golden, having two syllables fit the rhythm of the song.  Now it seems that the song has morphed into "five go-old rings," forcing an extra syllable from a one syllable word.  Did some high lyrical authority decide that we had to make clear that the rings were gold, and hence more valuable than mere golden [colored or perhaps plated] rings?

If so, this is a sad commentary on holiday commercial stupidity.  Even a classic Christmas carol is not safe from materialist encroachment.