Beat A Drum Lyrics

Lyric discussion by ThePrin 

Cover art for Beat A Drum lyrics by R.E.M.

My take on the coal and diamond reference is that it's an attempt to position human life as just another part of nature... coal is a "dirty" form of carbon and diamond a "beautiful" form of the same element. We humans are a carbon-based lifeform somewhere between the dirtiness of coal and the beauty of diamond, hence: "Halfway from coal, halfway to diamond" - we're far from the pedestal of perfection we like to think we are.

We are reminded of our position later on in the song: "Don't forget, we're just halfway from coal".

It's a beautiful song that celebrates nature - it just has that edge of bringing us down to earth.

I like this idea a lot, it makes a lot of sense :)

Glad to be of help haxorchick...

It was the "Don't forget, we're just halfway from coal" that clinched it for me.

Happy listening Prin