Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country star Miranda Lambert stares down at her engagement ring and confesses a deep, dark secret in the 2011 ballad, “Dear Diamond.”
The song’s protagonist has cheated on her husband and she fears that her once-flawless marriage could be torn apart.
She asks her diamond ring for clarity. If she confesses her indiscretions, she’ll break his heart. If she doesn’t, the guilt will haunt her.
She sings, “Dear diamond, pretty and new / Perfectly flawless, too good to be true / Dear diamond, you shine like the sun / You wrap around my finger just like he does / You cost more than he wanted to lose / And with this ring I said I do / I promise to never do what I’ve done / I’ve lied to someone.”
Lambert explained the origins of the song in an interview with CMT.com. Apparently, the characters in the story are fictional.
“When you first get engaged, as the girl, you’re constantly staring at your ring, showing everybody your ring,” she told CMT.com. “I just thought it would be a cool concept to write a song to my ring. And, of course, the dark side of me just kind of leaned toward the darker version instead of going happy with it. But I think that was the right way to go.”
“Dear Diamond,” which features the haunting harmonies of country and bluegrass singer, Patty Loveless, is the sixth track from Lambert’s Four the Record album.
Lambert told Rolling Stone magazine that Loveless was one of her heroes and that the collaboration was really special to her — “a dream come true.”
With more than one million records sold, Four the Record reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country albums chart and ascended to #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart. It also placed as high as #12 on the Canadian Albums chart.
Born in Longview, Texas, in 1983, Lambert became interested in country music after a attending a Garth Brooks concert as a nine-year-old. Lambert made her professional singing debut with “The Texas Pride Band” while she was still in high school. She also performed with the house band at Reo Palm Isle in Longview, Texas.
In 2003, Lambert placed third in Nashville Star, country music’s version of American Idol. Her first album, Kerosene, made its debut at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. In April 2017, Lambert won the ACM Award for Female Vocalist of the Year for a record eighth consecutive year. She also has won two Grammy Awards out of 12 nominations.
Please check out the audio track of Lambert and Loveless performing “Dear Diamond.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“Dear Diamond”
Written by Miranda Lambert. Performed by Miranda Lambert, featuring Patty Loveless.
Dear diamond, pretty and new
Perfectly flawless, too good to be true
Dear diamond, you shine like the sun
You wrap around my finger just like he does
You cost more than he wanted to lose
And with this ring I said I do
I promise to never do what I’ve done
I’ve lied to someone
Dear diamond, what will we do?
Well I like the devil, just face the truth
Dear diamond, be my saving grace
What you don’t know will kill him, that I can’t face
You cost more than he wanted to lose
And with this ring I said I do
I promise to never do what I’ve done
I’ve lied to someone, dear diamond
Dear diamond, with your band of gold
Some people you have, some people you hold
Dear diamond, I promise to keep
The secret I have while he’s holding me
Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.