Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. In his 2009 hit, Her Diamonds, Rob Thomas reflects on his wifes battle with a debilitating autoimmune disease. In this deeply personal song about empathy and love, Thomas uses the phrase her diamonds as a metaphor for his wifes tears.
He sings, And she says oh / I cant take no more / Her tears like diamonds on the floor / And her diamonds bring me down / Cause I cant help her now.
The former Matchbox 20 frontman revealed in a 2015 interview with The Canadian Press, that Her Diamonds was about his wife, Marisol, a former model who suffers from a disease similar to lupus.
My wife has an autoimmune disease and [weve had to] deal with that for the last six or seven years, he said. But at the end of the day, its really a song about being empathetic, when the person closest to you is going through something and you cant do anything to make it better, except to be there for them.
At the end of the song Thomas expresses his hope that his wife will overcome the disease, singing, If she can find daylight / Shell be alright / Shell be alright / Just not tonight.
According to Thomas, Marisol provided backup vocals for the track and produced the arrangement.
Her Diamonds was the lead single from Thomas second solo album, Cradlesong. It zoomed to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart, topped out at #23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and peaked at #27 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.
Thomas found stardom in 1997 when Matchbox 20s debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, went multi-platinum and readers of Rolling Stone magazine named Matchbox 20 the best new band.
As a solo artist, Thomas hit the pinnacle of success when Smooth, his collaboration with Carlos Santana, topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks and earned three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
We hope you enjoy the video of Thomas live performance of Her Diamonds. The lyrics are below if youd like to sing along...
Her Diamonds
Written and performed by Rob Thomas.
Oh what the hell she said
I just cant win for losing
And she lays back down
Man theres so many times
I dont know what Im doing
Like I dont know now
By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Says its funny how the night
Can make you blind
I can just imagine
And I dont know what Im supposed to do
But if she feels bad then I do too
So I let her be
And she says oh
I cant take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cause I cant help her now
Shes down in it
She tried her best but now she cant win it
Hard to see them on the ground
Her diamonds falling down
She sits down and stares into the distance
And it takes all night
And i know i could break her concentration
But it dont feel right
By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Sits down on the bed and starts to cry
And theres something less about her
And I dont know what Im supposed to do
So I sit down and I cry too
And dont let her see
And she says oh
I cant take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cause I cant help her now
Shes down in it
She tried her best but now she cant win it
Hard to see them on the ground
Her diamonds falling down
She shuts out the night
Tries to close her eyes
If she can find daylight
Shell be alright
Shell be alright
Just not tonight
And she says oh
I cant take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cause I cant help her now
Shes down in it
She tried her best but now she cant win it
Hard to see them on the ground
Her diamonds falling down
Credit: Photo by R. Cohen.