"Diamonds & Rust" is a 1975 song written and performed by Joan Baez, which is often said to describe her relationship with Bob Dylan ten years prior,
"Diamonds & Rust" is a 1975 song written and performed by Joan Baez, which is often said to describe her relationship with Bob Dylan ten years prior, but is actually about her husband David[1] (as recounted in And A Voice To Sing With). In the song, Baez recounts an out-of-the-blue phone call from an old lover, which sends her a decade back in time, to a seedy hotel in Greenwich Village. She recalls giving him a pair of cuff links, and summarizes that memories bring "diamonds and rust" (time both turns dirty charcoal into beautiful diamonds and shiny metal into ugly rust). Dylan is never specifically named in the song, but Baez has admitted in her memoir as well as in a number of interviews that he is the inspiration for the song. Cover versions have been performed by many artists, including Blackmore`s Night (Ritchie Blackmore and Candace Night).
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Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; his first public performance of it, at Gerde`s Folk City on April 16, 1962, was
Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; his first public performance of it, at Gerde`s Folk City on April 16, 1962, was recorded and circulates among Dylan collectors. Shortly after this performance, he added the middle verse to the song. Some published versions of the lyrics reverse the order of the second and third verses, apparently because Dylan simply appended the middle verse to his original manuscript, rather than writing out a new copy with the verses in proper order.
In interviews Dylan has never reported holding as high an opinion of the song as its popular acclaim would suggest - he has said he wrote the song in ten minutes. He has called it a work song, perhaps in reference to its derivative, rather than inspired, nature of its composition, the melody being derived from the old slave song "No More Auction Block", and some of its lyrical structure from the 1953 song "I Really Don`t Want to Know".
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This ballad, also known as "Mary Hamilton", has many variations and the execution is variously attributed to infanticide and sleeping with the queen`s
This ballad, also known as "Mary Hamilton", has many variations and the execution is variously attributed to infanticide and sleeping with the queen`s lover. I first heard this sung by Joan Baez.
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Another of the English and Scottish ballads collected by Francis James Child, this has obvious connections with "Hangman, Hangman" (Child 95) and the
Another of the English and Scottish ballads collected by Francis James Child, this has obvious connections with "Hangman, Hangman" (Child 95) and the Hungarian ballad, "Anathea". I first heard this sung by Joan Baez, and that is pretty much the version I sing here.
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One of the best-known of the English and Scottish ballads collected by Francis James Child. I first heard it sung by Joan Baez, but this is probably c
One of the best-known of the English and Scottish ballads collected by Francis James Child. I first heard it sung by Joan Baez, but this is probably closer to Dylan`s version. There is a fascinating book by Clinton Heylin - "Dylan`s Daemon Lover" - which traces the various versions of this song back to it`s origins in the sixteenth century. I used this source to put together what I thought were the most interesting and appropriate verses to tell the whole story.
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