“Temporarily lost at sea”: The one song Joan Baez couldn’t live without
It’s a question we’ve all pondered. If we were stranded on a deserted island, what would we take with us? There are the obvious answers that aid survival – a phone to call for help, a boat to set sail on – but there are also the more sentimental choices. A photo of a loved one, a blanket from your childhood, or, for music lovers, a song that feels like home. Soundtracking your island desertion with the right tunes is essential, and Joan Baez has the perfect options.
Spawning from the folk movement of the 1960s, Baez won over audiences with her impressive singing and innovative covers. She took on tracks by legends like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, putting her spin on them with impossibly wavering vocals and warm guitar twangs. She also penned her own material, perhaps most notably the entrancing ‘Diamonds and Rust’.
Released in the spring of 1975, ‘Diamonds and Rust’ was inspired by Baez’s relationship with fellow folk singer Bob Dylan. “Well, I’ll be damned,” she sang in the opening moments of the track, “Here comes your ghost again, but that’s not unusual, it’s just that the moon is full and you happened to call.” From there, she continues to reflect on their love, on his eyes and his insults to her poetry.
The track contains some of Baez’s most beautiful imagery, from the central idea that memories only bring “diamonds and rust” to the apt description of her lover straying into her arms, “temporarily lost at sea”. It’s a song that’s well worthy of a place on your desert island playlist, with even the songwriter herself reserving it a spot.
During an appearance on BBC’s Desert Island Discs, Baez shared eight songs that she would like to accompany her if she’s ever left stranded on an island, including tracks by Van Morrison, Jackson Browne, and a cheeky shout-out to herself. ‘Diamonds and Rust’ appeared amidst her picks, an interesting choice given the subject matter and sentiment of the song.
While the instrumentation is warm and comforting, with gorgeous guitar twangs that hide the bitterness in Baez’s words, the lyrics aren’t quite so calming. Particularly for Baez, who expelled her emotions in the song, it’s hard to imagine that ‘Diamonds and Rust’ could bring solace during stranding. It veers between diamond-like memories and rusting echoes of their relationship, painting a full picture of their love.
She paints images of an angelic Dylan, “brown leaves falling all around and snow in your hair”, but she also remembers the less beautiful parts of their relationship. The time he called her poetry lousy. The way he kept his words vague. “Now you’re telling me you’re not nostalgic, then give me another word for it,” she hits out, “You who are so good with words.”
It’s certainly not a song, lyrically, that would provide you with a moment of calm amidst the stormy seas. However, it is a song that explores the complexities of human emotion and relationships, a song that charts a moment, a feeling, a relationship from Baez’s life. In this way, it’s easy to see why she would want it to accompany her on a desert island.
‘Diamonds and Rust’ is a reminder of the life she has lived, the love she has given and the talent she has shared with the world, and it’s a worthy desert island disc.
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