This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Diamonds are forever
They won't leave in the night
I've no fear that they might
Desert me
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Close your eyes and imagine, feel the magic
Vegas on acid, seen through Yves St. Laurent glasses
And I've realized that I've arrived
Cause it take more than a magazine to kill my Vibe
Does he write his own rhymes, well sort of, I think 'em
That mean I forgot better shit than you ever thought of
Damn, is he really that caught up?
I ask if you talked about classics, do my name get brought up?
I remember I couldn't afford a Ford Escort
Or even a four-track recorder
So it's only right that I let the top drop on a drop-top Porsche
It's for yourself, that's important
If your stripper name "Porscha" and you get tips from many men
Then your fat friend, her nickname is "Minivan"
Excuse me, that's just the Henny, man
I smoke, I drink, I'm supposed to stop, I can't because
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
I was sick about awards, couldn't nobody cure me
Only playa that got robbed but kept all his jewelry
Alicia Keys tried to talk some sense in him
30 minutes later sein' there's no convincin' him
What more could you ask for? The international asshole
Who complain about what he is owed?
And throw a tantrum like he is 3 years old
You gotta love it though somebody still speaks from his soul
And wouldn't change by the change, or the game, or the fame
When he came in the game, he made his own lane
Now all I need is y'all to pronounce my name
It's Kanye, but some of my plaques, they still say Kayne
Got family in the D, Kin-folk from Motown
Back in the Chi, them Folks ain't from Moe Town
Life movin' too fast I need to slow down
Girl ain't give me no ass, ya need to go down
My father been said I need Jesus
So he took me to church and let the water wash over my caesar
The preacher said we need leaders
Right then my body got still like a paraplegic
You know who you call, you got a message, then leave it
The Roc stand tall and you would never believe it
Take your diamonds and throw 'em up like you bulimic
Yeah, the beat cold but the flow is anemic
After debris settles and the dust get swept off
Big K pick up where young Hov left off
Right when magazines wrote Kanye West off
I dropped my new shit, it sound like the best of
A&R's lookin' like, "Pssh, we messed up"
Grammy night, damn right, we got dressed up
Bottle after bottle till we got messed up
In the studio, with Really Doe, yeah, he next up
People askin' me if I'm gon' 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
"What's up with you and Jay, man, are y'all ok man?"
They pray for the death of our dynasty like "Amen"
R-r-r-r-right here stands a man
With the power to make a diamond with his bare hands
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
They won't leave in the night
I've no fear that they might
Desert me
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Close your eyes and imagine, feel the magic
Vegas on acid, seen through Yves St. Laurent glasses
And I've realized that I've arrived
Cause it take more than a magazine to kill my Vibe
Does he write his own rhymes, well sort of, I think 'em
That mean I forgot better shit than you ever thought of
Damn, is he really that caught up?
I ask if you talked about classics, do my name get brought up?
I remember I couldn't afford a Ford Escort
Or even a four-track recorder
So it's only right that I let the top drop on a drop-top Porsche
It's for yourself, that's important
If your stripper name "Porscha" and you get tips from many men
Then your fat friend, her nickname is "Minivan"
Excuse me, that's just the Henny, man
I smoke, I drink, I'm supposed to stop, I can't because
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
I was sick about awards, couldn't nobody cure me
Only playa that got robbed but kept all his jewelry
Alicia Keys tried to talk some sense in him
30 minutes later sein' there's no convincin' him
What more could you ask for? The international asshole
Who complain about what he is owed?
And throw a tantrum like he is 3 years old
You gotta love it though somebody still speaks from his soul
And wouldn't change by the change, or the game, or the fame
When he came in the game, he made his own lane
Now all I need is y'all to pronounce my name
It's Kanye, but some of my plaques, they still say Kayne
Got family in the D, Kin-folk from Motown
Back in the Chi, them Folks ain't from Moe Town
Life movin' too fast I need to slow down
Girl ain't give me no ass, ya need to go down
My father been said I need Jesus
So he took me to church and let the water wash over my caesar
The preacher said we need leaders
Right then my body got still like a paraplegic
You know who you call, you got a message, then leave it
The Roc stand tall and you would never believe it
Take your diamonds and throw 'em up like you bulimic
Yeah, the beat cold but the flow is anemic
After debris settles and the dust get swept off
Big K pick up where young Hov left off
Right when magazines wrote Kanye West off
I dropped my new shit, it sound like the best of
A&R's lookin' like, "Pssh, we messed up"
Grammy night, damn right, we got dressed up
Bottle after bottle till we got messed up
In the studio, with Really Doe, yeah, he next up
People askin' me if I'm gon' 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
"What's up with you and Jay, man, are y'all ok man?"
They pray for the death of our dynasty like "Amen"
R-r-r-r-right here stands a man
With the power to make a diamond with his bare hands
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
Lyrics submitted by fadingthelines
Diamonds From Sierra Leone Lyrics as written by Antwan Patton Andre Benjamin
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Sentric Music, Songtrust Ave, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Hipgnosis Songs Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Holiday
Bee Gees
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.