This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Up on the white veranda
She wears a necktie and a Panama hat
Her passport shows a face
From another time and place
She looks nothing like that
And all the remnants of her recent past
Are scattered in the wild wind
She walks across the marble floor
Where a voice from the gambling room is callin' her to come on in
She smiles, walks the other way
As the last ship sails and the moon fades away
From Black Diamond Bay
As the morning light breaks open, the Greek comes down
And he asks for a rope and a pen that will write
Pardon, monsieur, the desk clerk says
Carefully removes his fez
Am I hearing you right
And as the yellow fog is lifting
The Greek is quickly heading for the second floor
She passes him on the spiral staircase
Thinking he's the Soviet Ambassador
She starts to speak, but he walks away
As the storm clouds rise and the palm branches sway
On Black Diamond Bay
A soldier sits beneath the fan
Doing business with a tiny man who sells him a ring
Lightning strikes, the lights blow out
The desk clerk wakes and begins to shout
Can you see anything
Then the Greek appears on the second floor
In his bare feet with a rope around his neck
While a loser in the gambling room lights up a candle
Says, open up another deck
But the dealer says, attendez-vous, s'il vous plait
As the rain beats down and the cranes fly away
From Black Diamond Bay
The desk clerk heard the woman laugh
As he looked around the aftermath and the soldier got tough
He tried to grab the woman's hand
Said, here's a ring, it cost a grand
She said, that ain't enough
Then she ran upstairs to pack her bags
While a horse-drawn taxi waited at the curb
She passed the door that the Greek had locked
Where a handwritten sign read, do not disturb
She knocked upon it anyway
As the sun went down and the music did play
On Black Diamond Bay
I've got to talk to someone quick
But the Greek said, go away, and he kicked the chair to the floor
He hung there from the chandelier
She cried, help, there's danger near
Please open up the door
Then the volcano erupted
And the lava flowed down from the mountain high above
The soldier and the tiny man were crouched in the corner
Thinking of forbidden love
But the desk clerk said, it happens every day
As the stars fell down and the fields burned away
On Black Diamond Bay
As the island slowly sank
The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room
The dealer said, it's too late now
You can take your money, but I don't know how
You'll spend it in the tomb
The tiny man bit the soldier's ear
As the floor caved in and the boiler in the basement blew
While she's out on the balcony, where a stranger tells her
My darling, je vous aime beaucoup
She sheds a tear and then begins to pray
As the fire burns on and the smoke drifts away
From Black Diamond Bay
I was sitting home alone one night in L.A.
Watching old Cronkite on the seven o'clock news
It seems there was an earthquake that
Left nothing but a Panama hat
And a pair of old Greek shoes
Didn't seem like much was happening
So I turned it off and went to grab another beer
Seems like every time you turn around
There's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear
And there's really nothing anyone can say
And I never did plan to go anyway
To Black Diamond Bay
She wears a necktie and a Panama hat
Her passport shows a face
From another time and place
She looks nothing like that
And all the remnants of her recent past
Are scattered in the wild wind
She walks across the marble floor
Where a voice from the gambling room is callin' her to come on in
She smiles, walks the other way
As the last ship sails and the moon fades away
From Black Diamond Bay
As the morning light breaks open, the Greek comes down
And he asks for a rope and a pen that will write
Pardon, monsieur, the desk clerk says
Carefully removes his fez
Am I hearing you right
And as the yellow fog is lifting
The Greek is quickly heading for the second floor
She passes him on the spiral staircase
Thinking he's the Soviet Ambassador
She starts to speak, but he walks away
As the storm clouds rise and the palm branches sway
On Black Diamond Bay
A soldier sits beneath the fan
Doing business with a tiny man who sells him a ring
Lightning strikes, the lights blow out
The desk clerk wakes and begins to shout
Can you see anything
Then the Greek appears on the second floor
In his bare feet with a rope around his neck
While a loser in the gambling room lights up a candle
Says, open up another deck
But the dealer says, attendez-vous, s'il vous plait
As the rain beats down and the cranes fly away
From Black Diamond Bay
The desk clerk heard the woman laugh
As he looked around the aftermath and the soldier got tough
He tried to grab the woman's hand
Said, here's a ring, it cost a grand
She said, that ain't enough
Then she ran upstairs to pack her bags
While a horse-drawn taxi waited at the curb
She passed the door that the Greek had locked
Where a handwritten sign read, do not disturb
She knocked upon it anyway
As the sun went down and the music did play
On Black Diamond Bay
I've got to talk to someone quick
But the Greek said, go away, and he kicked the chair to the floor
He hung there from the chandelier
She cried, help, there's danger near
Please open up the door
Then the volcano erupted
And the lava flowed down from the mountain high above
The soldier and the tiny man were crouched in the corner
Thinking of forbidden love
But the desk clerk said, it happens every day
As the stars fell down and the fields burned away
On Black Diamond Bay
As the island slowly sank
The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room
The dealer said, it's too late now
You can take your money, but I don't know how
You'll spend it in the tomb
The tiny man bit the soldier's ear
As the floor caved in and the boiler in the basement blew
While she's out on the balcony, where a stranger tells her
My darling, je vous aime beaucoup
She sheds a tear and then begins to pray
As the fire burns on and the smoke drifts away
From Black Diamond Bay
I was sitting home alone one night in L.A.
Watching old Cronkite on the seven o'clock news
It seems there was an earthquake that
Left nothing but a Panama hat
And a pair of old Greek shoes
Didn't seem like much was happening
So I turned it off and went to grab another beer
Seems like every time you turn around
There's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear
And there's really nothing anyone can say
And I never did plan to go anyway
To Black Diamond Bay
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Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
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I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
Basically, this song is about irony. The Greek hangs himself even though everyone is about to die anyway, the loser wins in gambling right before he is about to die, the big "tough" soldier wants to have "forbidden love" with a tiny man, and the woman does find love but it's too late because they are about to die so she "sheds a tear and begins to pray." And finally, the ultimate irony is that the speaker saw all this on the 7 o'clock news and just shuts it off. It doesn't even matter to him...
I like yours the best.
Totally agree with you that the song is about irony. A lot of Dylan's songs are. Desire is one of his best albums.
Right on! Fantastic song.
@StallionintheRift12 Bingo!
The specific reference of Black Diamond Bay is to the Conrad novel called "Victory". In the novel, Black Diamond Bay is a disused coal port/depot on an island in the far east (Indonesia/Borneo area). There are elements in the novel that reappear in the song (a hotel, a volcano, gambling, a somewhat enigmatic woman, BDB itself of course) but the song is not a 'song of the book' by any means. In some ways its a bit like a dream version of the book with everything mixed up and in the wrong places. There may be elements from other Conrad novels in there as well - some themes doubtless reappear in many of the novels.
Black Diamond Bay has long been my favorite Bob Dylan song. It is a song of the detachment that mankind feels for his fellow man and a warning for the consequences of that detachment and the consequences of simple sins of ommission and self-indulgence.
The woman in the song represents the individual who will ascend to heaven. Thus she is on the white veranda while everyone else in the song is consumed by the boiler in the basement, i.e hell
The lava from the mountain high above is symbolic of God's hand in the end of the world.
The woman avoids sin both by not going to the gambling room nor accepting the ring as a bribe (for sex). The stranger is I believe an angel or symbolic of God and his love for her who appears as her end, she is humbled and prays.
In the end the person "I" is an attempt to make the listener of the song realize how easy it is to fall into the same traps as the soldier, gambler the Greek - symbolic of a non-believer who by doing so is in essence committing suicide for their will be no hope for non-believers.
The end of the song is extremely interesting when describing the scene. All that will be left in the end is heaven and hell. the Woman will go to heaven as symbolized by her hat and the Greek goes to hell as symbolized by his shoes. Note the Greek had taken his shoes off symbolizing his lack of belief in either heaven or hell but hell it is for him non-the less.
A truly great Bob Dylan song
@gkhd11a I don't think the woman is as squeaky clean as you say. A couple of things. She changes her appearance frequently, and when offered a $1,000 ring by the soldier, she says "That aint enough". Not that her love cannot be bought, it just costs more than he's offering.
@gkhd11a To Amypaul957. The woman is representing the average person who is changing her life, obviously lived a troubled life previously, the turning down of the $1,000 is not a demand for more money, It is a declaration that money does not substitute for love. <br /> <br /> Look at it in terms of the gambler who breaks the bank, “you can take your money but I don’t know how you’ll spend it in the tomb” Finally when the stranger comes, a definite symbolism of an angel the french "je vous aime beaucoup” translates to I love you very much.
The french in the song is pretty basic greetings. "Pardon, Monsieur" means "Pardon me Mister", "Attendez-vous, sil vous plait" means "Please wait", "Je vous aime beaucoup" means "I love you very much". I think Bob used french in the story to add mystery to those who don't read french and also to express a sense of internationality. The song mentions a Greek, a Soviet, and French speaking people. Im assuming the islanders speak French.
@Aztecmad08 I agree with that, along with the French phrases fitting the rhyme scheme, and lending complimentary authentic Caribean patois to the narrative, magically witnessed from 'a fly on the wall' perspective.
In the second verse, I believe there is a reference to The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock by T.S. Eliot.
"And as the yellow fog is lifting,"
The "Love Song" concerns a man weighed down with regret and the knowledge that his cowardice in seeking love has cost him the experience of it. He has wasted his life in trivialities, in half-deserted streets, cheap hotels, "sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells," meaningless conversation, a hundred indecisions and visions and revisions before toast and tea. More than this, he passively accepts this waste, believing that his chance to change things has long passed.
"Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter, I am no prophet - and here's no great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid."
And at the close,
"We have lingered in the chambers of the sea By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown Till human voices wake us and we drown."
In the poem, the yellow fog seems to represent the essence of lethargy and wastefulness, crawling through the streets, around the houses, pressing up against the windows. In Black Diamond Bay, the yellow fog is lifting. The earthquake is perhaps the "human voice" that wakes the characters in the song. And yes, they drown, but they are for once awake and alive and made painfully aware of how fruitless their lives have been up until this fatal point.
I think there is something in how the desk clerk and the dealer are merely there as passive observers and commentators on the actions of those around them. The woman is searching for something (we don't know what), the loser is trying to reverse his luck, the Greek is in a hurry to take his own life, and the soldier and the tiny man are doing business, on the cusp of succumbing to their desires.
"The desk clerk says, 'It happens every day."
The volcano has erupted, the mountains are streaming lava, the fields are on fire and even the stars are falling. The desk clerk could be saying this happens every day, which lends some mystery to the song, similar to that found in Hotel California by The Eagles. He could, of course, just as easily be referring to the homoerotic tension between the soldier and the tiny man. Either way, he comes across as unusually calm for someone about to meet his own demise.
In my opinion, the desk clerk (and possibly the dealer by extension) can be perhaps be compared to the eternal Footman in Eliot's poem. There is also a suggestion that he is the yellow fog itself, as he appears throughout the song in various states of drowsiness, confusion and general idleness. Similarly, the dealer has only two lines in the song, first instructing the dealer to wait, then later on informing him (somewhat ironically) that it is too late.
Of course, the themes of irony in Black Diamond Bay are also very strong. The woman rejects the loser and the soldier for their false love (the loser would not leave the gambling room for her, the soldier wants to buy her romance), tries to save the life of a man intent on dying, and ultimately finds true love only to have it thwarted by fate. The soldier chases after the woman up until the last moment, when he realizes (or simply must admit) that he desires something and someone else entirely. The Greek is in an awful hurry to kill himself, but moments after his death he would have died anyway. The loser breaks the bank as the island sinks into the sea, taking all the players in this tragic comedy along with it.
I think the narrator is another victim of the yellow fog. He sits alone, watching news that depresses him and drinking beer. All he sees of the Black Diamond Bay disaster is a hat, a pair of shoes and "nothing happening." I suppose the question is how much is happening in his own life? When will his earthquake come to shake him awake from his stupor? Just the same, will it come too late?
There is a hotel in Black Diamond Bay. The hotel is filled with guests who are all charecters. There is a women who has had a rough past, she is looking for love and maybe thinking about killing herself. She has a boyfriend who we later find out is a soldier that buys her a ring but she cannot stand him.There is a man who is gambling and keeps losing to the dealer, and through all this the gambler is hitting on the women but she only similes. When night falls the last ship leaves taking with all and any hope of escape from the earthquakes and explosions the eruption will cause. In the morning another man "The Greek" is getting a rope to hang himself with and a pen that writes for his suicide letter. As he runs back up the stairs his path crosses with the women. The soldier in the lobby is buying a ring for his fiance from a tiny man. Just then the electricity goes out. Greek runs out of room rope around neck to see what is going on. The gambler unphased by this tells the dealer to "open up another deck." In the aftermath her boyfriend gives her the ring rudley telling her how much it cost and she now realising she could die decides to leave him by telling him, "that ain't enough." She then runs upstairs to pack and leave and stops at the greek's room to talk but he tells her to go away. At the moment the volcano erupted. The emotionally distrought soldier is now cuddled in a corner with the tiny man that sold him the ring and they both are sexually attracted to each other and "thinking of forbidden love." But thorugh all this the island begins to sink into the ocean and all the while the gambler was still playing he finally breaks the bank and all the dealer can say is "its too late now." The soldier and the tiny man are now nibbling ears. They both have discovered something about themselves on the day they died. Then next I beleive that the women was cheating on the soldier with the greek. The greek stricken with guilt, because he possibly is married decides to kill himself. The women is now at the edge of the balcony ready to die along with this sinking island hears a stranger tell her that, "my darling I love you very much." With all the drama that was going on at the hotel when the news get ahold of it and the veiwer hears Walter Kronkite tell the tale of the sinking of Black Diamond Bay, we know nothing of the people there as veiwers of the news. So how do we reply "I never did plan to go anyway to Black Diamond Bay."
@FrancisMSB The pen is for the sign saying Do Not Disturb. No mention of a suicide note.
Forget the symbolism. Dylan paints images and characters.
This story feels like Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle." We watch the wild characters, laugh, and ultimately feel detached enough to switch it all off, while other peoples' lives go down.
Strange... I read KV's 'Galapagos' a couple of years after first hearing BDB, and I was struck by the similar feeling they gave me; particularly the joy at the characters' own destruction. Quite misanthropic, really. Never read CC though.
"Up on the white verandah/She wears a necktie and a Panama hat" could only have been written in the early 1970s.
Or the mid-'70s, which is when the song was actually written.
The last stanza, about sitting home in LA watching old Cronkite, is obviously about how we become inured to the global tragedies played out on the nightly news.
The song itself, updated for more modern times, seems about the Port Royal earthquake that destroyed that entire city and left it largely forgotten in modern times.
And after all that, Bob ends up getting Cronkited by the Sunday Night News ...