19 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix feat. Jay-Z) Lyrics
(Diamonds are forever, they are all I need to please me,
They can stimulate and tease me,
They won't leave in the night,
Have no fear that they might desert me.)
[Kanye] Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe,
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme,
Forever ever? Forever ever?
Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever?
Good morning, this ain't Vietnam,
still people lose legs, hands, arms for real,
Little was known of Sierra Leone
and how it connected to the diamonds we own.
When I speak the diamonds in this song,
I ain't talkin bout the ones that be glowin
I'm talkin bout Roc-A-Fella, my home, my chain,
These ain't conflict diamonds,
Is they, Jacob? Don't lie to me, man
See, a part of me's sayin 'Keep shining',
How, when I know that they're blood diamonds?
Though it's thousands of miles away,
Sierra Leone connects to what we go through today.
Over here - it's the drug trade, we die from drugs
Over there - they die from what we buy from drugs
The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charms,
I thought my Jesus piece is so harmless
till I seen a picture of a shorty armless and here's the conflict
It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold,
spend your whole life trying to get that ice,
On a polar rugby it looks so nice,
How could something so wrong make me feel so right, right?
'Fore I beat myself up like Ike,
You could still throw ya Roc-A-Fella diamond tonight, cause
(Diamonds are forever, they are all I need to please me,
They can stimulate and tease me,
They won't leave in the night,
Have no fear that they might desert me.)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe,
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme,
Forever ever? Forever ever?
Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever?
People askin' me, Is I gonna give my chain back?
That'll be the same day I give the game back.
You know the next question, 'dog, yo, where dame at?'
This track, the Indian dance to bring our reign back,
'Whats up with you an' Jay man, are y'all okay man?'
[Jay] Yup!
I got it from here, 'ye. Damn!
The chain remains, the gang is intact,
The name is mine, I'll take the blame for that,
The pressure's on, but guess who ain't gon crack (Laughing)
Part of me had to laugh at that.
How could you falter, when you're the rock of Gibraltar?
I had to get off the boat so I could walk on water
This ain't no tour order, this is nothin to me.
Difficult takes a day,
Impossible takes a week.
I do this in my sleep.
I sold kilos of coke. I'm guessing I can sell CDs.
I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man.
Lemme handle my business, damn.
Kanyes, you got me, Freeway to Foxy,
YG', Teairra Mari, Petey watch me
Bleek could be one hit away his whole career
As long as I'm alive, he's a millionaire
And even if I die, he's in my will somewhere,
So he can just kick back and chill somewhere.
He don't even have to write rhymes,
The dynasty - like my money - last three lifetimes
Shirley Bassey was in the rear,
sayin exactly what I was saying practically my whole career,
The diamond is forever, I been mindin this forever,
Now the Louis Vuitton Don's timin' couldn't be better
People lined up to see the Titanic sinkin'
Instead we rose from the ash like a phoenix
If you watin for the end, the dynasty signed
And what seemed like forever is a mighty long time
I'm Young, bitches. (laughter)
Goodnight!
They can stimulate and tease me,
They won't leave in the night,
Have no fear that they might desert me.)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme,
Forever ever? Forever ever?
Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever?
still people lose legs, hands, arms for real,
Little was known of Sierra Leone
and how it connected to the diamonds we own.
I ain't talkin bout the ones that be glowin
I'm talkin bout Roc-A-Fella, my home, my chain,
These ain't conflict diamonds,
Is they, Jacob? Don't lie to me, man
How, when I know that they're blood diamonds?
Though it's thousands of miles away,
Sierra Leone connects to what we go through today.
Over here - it's the drug trade, we die from drugs
Over there - they die from what we buy from drugs
The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charms,
I thought my Jesus piece is so harmless
till I seen a picture of a shorty armless and here's the conflict
It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold,
spend your whole life trying to get that ice,
On a polar rugby it looks so nice,
How could something so wrong make me feel so right, right?
'Fore I beat myself up like Ike,
You could still throw ya Roc-A-Fella diamond tonight, cause
They can stimulate and tease me,
They won't leave in the night,
Have no fear that they might desert me.)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme,
Forever ever? Forever ever?
Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever? Ever ever?
That'll be the same day I give the game back.
You know the next question, 'dog, yo, where dame at?'
This track, the Indian dance to bring our reign back,
'Whats up with you an' Jay man, are y'all okay man?'
I got it from here, 'ye. Damn!
The chain remains, the gang is intact,
The name is mine, I'll take the blame for that,
The pressure's on, but guess who ain't gon crack (Laughing)
Part of me had to laugh at that.
How could you falter, when you're the rock of Gibraltar?
I had to get off the boat so I could walk on water
This ain't no tour order, this is nothin to me.
Difficult takes a day,
Impossible takes a week.
I do this in my sleep.
I sold kilos of coke. I'm guessing I can sell CDs.
I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man.
Lemme handle my business, damn.
Kanyes, you got me, Freeway to Foxy,
YG', Teairra Mari, Petey watch me
Bleek could be one hit away his whole career
As long as I'm alive, he's a millionaire
And even if I die, he's in my will somewhere,
So he can just kick back and chill somewhere.
He don't even have to write rhymes,
The dynasty - like my money - last three lifetimes
Shirley Bassey was in the rear,
sayin exactly what I was saying practically my whole career,
The diamond is forever, I been mindin this forever,
Now the Louis Vuitton Don's timin' couldn't be better
People lined up to see the Titanic sinkin'
Instead we rose from the ash like a phoenix
If you watin for the end, the dynasty signed
And what seemed like forever is a mighty long time
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I think... this song is about how kids and young adults are loosing their lives producing the diamonds and priceless stones we splurge so much on these days. We are desperately wanting to get these diamonds and some of us will even put half our lives in danger for them , just like those children, (But they are chasing after food,water,shelter etc. all the things we have in order to survive. They care less for wanting diamonds or any other crap)
Kanye and Jay-Z seems to be playing roles here in this song like, Kanye is trying to be a activist by telling us how people are getting hurt from what we buy and we should be ashamed and guilty on how selfish we are being.
and Jay-Z seems to be playing our "typical" rich man that is well respected by a lot of people. He tries to set us in his point of view in his luxurious life so we are able to connect our lives to the people that are dying digging up mines on the other side of the world.
this version is so much better. its not as well produced, but kanye's lyrics are brilliant, and explain his motivation behind it.
yes, he wears a lot of jewellry, but thats because he only recently found out about the diamond mines in sierra leone. most of the population doesnt know about them in fairness, so you cant resent him for that. at the end of the video though it says "please buy conflict free diamonds", which shows his intent :)
i think the middle bit, just before jay-z comes in is badly edited, but i spose the lyrics make up for it.
I think the lyrics on this version are brilliant just as the dude above says, but not just because what he says; it is more about how he says it. I love the way he compares the way african americans have it in their blood to wear ice and that they will bang and do what they can to get it and ironically they die for the same way that african's die to get diamonds over here.
Jay Z's lyrics aren't bad either. They refer to Jigga's recent move to Def Jam, specifically when he says he had to get out of the boat (Rockafella) to walk on water (running def jam). Then he talks about how there are so many people hoping that Rockafella will fail, and since Jay Z's departure, it came true, but the Roc still lives in Jay Z and the artists he brought with him to Def Jam. That's where the reference to watching the "Titanic Sink" comes in, and rising from the ashes like a phoenix refers to the Roc living through Def Jam. At least, that is my interpretation.
I LOVE jay-z's verse... hes the king of this braggadacio shit...
"This ain't no tall order, this is nothin to me. Difficult takes a day, Impossible takes a week. I do this in my sleep. I sold kilos of coke. I'm guessing I can sell CDs. I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man. Lemme handle my business, damn."
and what makes it so good is its BELIEVABLE. he has proven over the years that hes a very sucessful businessman.
Jay-z is no longer just a rapper, and hes not just a record exec... hes a BRAND. His name alone rakes in dollars.
this song's brilliant...i agree with what everyone has said so far so if you wanna know what thsi song means...go read the previous posts...
Over here - it's the drug trade, we die from drugs Over there - they die from what we buy from drugs
This is brilliant, I think of this as the full unedited version of Diamonds from Sierra Leone, Jay-Z's verse adds so much more to the song.
I was disapointed to hear Diamonds without an actual message about it in the MTV version. That is until I found this to be the "actual" unedited version of the song, which also includes (gasp) JAY-Z in a monumental performance. This has some of the best lyrics I've seen in years (I haven't even seen many songs in alternative with lyrics as good as these.)
The only thing I don't understand is this verse; "When I speak the diamonds in this song, I ain't talkin bout the ones that be glowin I'm talkin bout Roc-A-Fella, my home, my chain," What the hell's that supposed to mean? Is he trying to lead off some people to make it a little less critisizing to the gansta rap scene, or is there some kind of double meaning in this song? Can the diamonds also represent Roc-A-Fella? It does make sense when you pair it up with Jay's verse.
Anyway this is one of Kanye's best songs, and I have to give it to him for picking the best sample for it too. "Diamonds Are Forever" (James Bond Theme) That's my homedog 'Ye.
Am I the only one who thinks it's extremely ironic that the GoogleAd for this page is for HipHopJewels.com?
Oh, and I love this remix, it's a thousand times better than the original.
"I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, maaan, Lemme handle my business, damn."
Score.
proto_cloud the video and the song have different meanings the video is about the Diamond trade. The song is really about the break up rock-a-fella records and since u clearly don't know a diamond is rock -a-fella's symbol thats y he says "You could still throw ya Roc-A-Fella diamond tonight"
I love this version. Great stuff.