Diamond and rust   Joan Baez

Well , I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full and you happened to call
And here I sit, hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known a couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy, you said
"Where were you calling from?"
"A booth in the Midwest"
Ten years ago I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamond and rust

Well, you burst on the scene were already a legend
The unwatched phenomenon
The original vagabond you strayed into my arms
And there you stayed temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes, the girl on the half shell
Could keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing with brown leaves falling all around
Snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window of that crummy hotel over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white cloud mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could've died then and there

Now you're telling me you're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who're so good with words and at keeping thing vague
Cause I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes , I love you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

鑽石與鐵鏽   瓊拜雅

我的老天！
你的魅影又再度出現
但這並非不尋常
只因今晚滿月，你恰巧又打電話來
我坐在這兒，手持聽筒
聽著幾個光年以前就很熟悉的聲音
準備再次受到傷害

依稀記得你的雙眼
比知更鳥的蛋更藍(註)
你說我寫得詩糟透了
"你從那裡打電話來？"
"在中西部的某個電話亭"
十年前我買過袖扣送你
你亦回贈了一些東西給我
我們都明白回憶能夠給我們什麼
它們給了我們鑽石與鐵鏽

當你鋒芒乍現的情景，已然成了傳奇
彷彿令人無法逼視的自然現象
原本是個流浪者，你漂泊入我的臂彎
而你的停留，如海上的短暫迷航
受到聖母的眷顧
是的，這個女孩像蚌殼一般
能保護你不被傷害

如今，我看到你佇立在黃葉紛飛中
髮上覆著白雪
你微笑著，在那可以遠眺華盛頓廣場的小旅館窗前
你我呼出的氣如雲霧般交錯，凝結在冷空氣中
對我來說
當時氣氛凝重，彷彿能致你我於死地

如今你對我說，你並不懷鄉念舊
那麼請你找另一個字來代替
你向來擅於咬文嚼字，使之曖昧難懂
因為現在我正需要那樣的曖昧
過去的一切都太清晰了
是的，我深愛著你
如果你又給我鑽石與鐵鏽
告訴你，我已付出過代價了

Joan Baez 瓊拜雅這位美國民謠之后，有好幾首學吉他者必備的傳世之作，如"Donna , Donna"、"The night they drove old Dixies down"及"Diamonds and rust"等。

瓊拜雅的嗓音清亮、純淨，技巧成熟，許多知名作曲家都樂意提供作品給她，因而她比較知名的曲子大都不是自己所寫，“Diamonds and rust.”是她自己譜寫的歌曲中最為人熟知的一首。

這首歌的歌詞冗長，意象繁複，難以了解其中意涵，原因是歌詞中所講的是瓊拜雅個人的一段戀情。

瓊拜雅於50年代末投入美國民歌運動，進入60年代，她遇見了巴布狄倫（Bob Dylan，被尊稱為“民謠搖滾之父”，寫出過多首名曲），兩人惺惺相惜，彼此都十分賞識對方的才華，而展開了一段秘密戀情。

這段感情最後無疾而終，1975年，瓊拜雅寫下這首曲子，紀念當年兩人亦師亦友的感情，後來“鑽石與鐵鏽”也被認為是她最好的一首創作曲。

註 : robin's egg 知更鳥的蛋，外表是淡藍色的。