Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
It's not right, but it's now or never
And if I wait, could I ever forgive myself?
On a night when the moon glows yellow in the riptide
With the light from the TV's buzzing in the house
'Cause I'm gonna cut it where I can
And then I'm gonna duck out behind them
If I ever had a chance it's now then
But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you
To offer it to you would be cruel
When all I want to do is use, use you
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81, oh-oh, oh-oh
Dressed in white with my car keys hidden in the kitchen
I could sleep wherever I lay my head
And the sight of your two shoes sitting in the bathtub
Let me know that I shouldn't give up just yet
'Cause I'm gonna take it from Simon
And then I'm gonna duck out behind them
If I ever had a chance it's now then
But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you
To offer it to you would be cruel
When all I want to do is use, use you
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81, oh-oh, oh-oh
I know, you'll say I'm not doing it right
But this is how I want it
I can't go back to how I felt before, there's
That night I smoked a joint with my best friend
We found ourselves in bed, when I woke up, he was gone
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81
Looking out at the ice-cold water all around me
I can't feel any traces of that other place
In the dark, when the wind comes racing off the river
There's a car all black with diplomatic plates
And if I wait, could I ever forgive myself?
On a night when the moon glows yellow in the riptide
With the light from the TV's buzzing in the house
'Cause I'm gonna cut it where I can
And then I'm gonna duck out behind them
If I ever had a chance it's now then
But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you
To offer it to you would be cruel
When all I want to do is use, use you
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81, oh-oh, oh-oh
Dressed in white with my car keys hidden in the kitchen
I could sleep wherever I lay my head
And the sight of your two shoes sitting in the bathtub
Let me know that I shouldn't give up just yet
'Cause I'm gonna take it from Simon
And then I'm gonna duck out behind them
If I ever had a chance it's now then
But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you
To offer it to you would be cruel
When all I want to do is use, use you
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81, oh-oh, oh-oh
I know, you'll say I'm not doing it right
But this is how I want it
I can't go back to how I felt before, there's
That night I smoked a joint with my best friend
We found ourselves in bed, when I woke up, he was gone
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81
He was a diplomat's son, it was '81
Looking out at the ice-cold water all around me
I can't feel any traces of that other place
In the dark, when the wind comes racing off the river
There's a car all black with diplomatic plates
Lyrics submitted by ContravoltStudios
Diplomat's Son Lyrics as written by Ezra Koenig David James Andrew Taylor
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Sorry for the double post, but here are the Rolling Stone excerpts that scottfer mentioned:
(…) Batmanglij is also gay, a fact he’s never really discussed publicly. His friends have knows since college, but he didn’t come out to his parents until about two years ago. (Asked how they handled the news, he laughs: “My dad went to Brtisish boarding school. You don’t get much gayer than that.”) A self-described homebody, he was in a pretty serious relationship last winter, but they split up a few weeks into the recording of the album. “I tried everything to have him back,” Batmanglij says. “He broke my heart”. (…) Take “Diplomat’s Son”, which is inspired by that boarding-school story Koenig wrote. The original is an angry parable of class tension and resentment that culminates in a bloody beat-down on a soccer field. Batmanglij took it and made it a love story. “After you leave college, the world opens up,” Koenig says. “For this record, I wanted there to be songs that everybody could understand.” (…)
Sweet!!
I had heard about this piece; it's very interesting. Is there a way you could send me the rest of the text from the article? I'd really like to see what else was written.
Here's the whole magazine for download:<br /> avaxdownload.com/forum/magazines/1293-rolling-stone-4-february-2010-a.html
Thanks a lot man!