Well, I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well, you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes, the girl on the half-shell
Could keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling all around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
'Cause I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes, I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid


Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by sheiladare, ClaireMatthews, laburke, Ghado

Diamonds And Rust Lyrics as written by Joan Baez

Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

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Diamonds and Rust song meanings
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  • -2
    General Comment

    This is the best song Joan Baez ever wrote. I'm not that big a fan of Joan but I happen to be rather familiar (very very much so) with Bob Dylan. This song is obvz about Dylan, there's no point even considering otherwise. Their relationship, despite what ppl may say, was very much a deep one that most ppl won't ever understand. To claim that Dylan never loved Joan is absurd, if there's two people Dylan ever loved in his life it was Sara and Joan. Unfortunately these women came at rather interweaving times. Dylan of course was an asshole to Joan as evidenced very frequently. Anyways, when Dylan's marriage was falling apart in '74, '75 he took up songwriting like he hadn't in quite some time. Beginning with Planet Waves, Dylan was 'reborn'. Not that kind of reborn. Following Planet Waves he went back to NY and wrote a bunch of songs that would become Blood on the Tracks. There are some great outtakes that didn't even make the album but that's another story. He recorded the album and then went to his brother's in Minnesota. There his brother convinced him to re-record the tracks and he did so. Amongst the re-recordings he added some more songs, one of which was Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of the Hearts. Bob called Joan (whom he had spoken to since their relationship ended obviously but not all that often) and he read her the entire lyrics for that song. That's the phone call referenced. The album was put together mixed with the NY sessions and the Minnesota sessions. Baez would join Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue and although they had a number of differences (the main reason for their breakup was that Baez wanted to change America and Dylan thought it was impossible and wanted no part of it) managed to get along quite well. The end.

    FootOfPrideon August 28, 2011   Link

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