Diamonds and Rust

DIAMONDS AND RUST
(Words and Music by 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 are 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 diamonds and rust
Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed 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
Would keep you unharmed
Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there
Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

© 1975 Chandos Music (ASCAP)

Gabby and my dad

This is my darling Gabby, a white German Shepherd, at age 7 weeks, in my apartment when I lived in Lexington, Kentucky. My dad was old and almost deaf and lived alone in a cabin in the country with a huge fenced yard in North Carolina. I raised Gabby to age 6 months, trained her perfectly, but she was so smart she was an easy train. The first night i had her, I closed her in the kitchen, the only room not carpeted, but I couldn't stand her whimpers. I took my quilt and pillow and went and slept on the kitchen floor with her. She held it all night and went to the bath room the next morning as soon as I set her on the grass. From that day on she slept in my bed with me. She never had an accident in the house. When she was ready I gave her as a gift to my dad although it broke my heart. She lived with him 12 years. They bonded so closely. She never forgot me or stopped loving me. When I went to visit, she was all over me. Dad said she could hear my car and recognized its sound several minutes before I reached his driveway.

What a pair they were, taking long walks together, doing everything together. She was his ears, letting him know whenever anyone came to see him, letting him know when his opossum traps snapped shut and caught a 'possum. She was afraid of thunderstorms and Dad lost a girlfriend because of this. If it began to thunder while he was on a date, he would excuse himself and go home to comfort and be with Gabby through the storm. She adored him. She came back to stay with me for a while once and spent every day looking out the window she had seen him drive away from. I took her home as soon as possible. They were joyous at being reunited.

When she died, he went into a deep depression, had to be hospitalized, and was released to assisted living. He was so devastated that, when he had her cremated, he couldn't bear to bring her ashes in from the car. I has the ashes of my beloved Bo and Duke, so told Dad that Gabby could come and stay with them and if he ever wanted her back, I'd bring her to him. She's still on my bedroom dresser with the other two.

Dad really couldn't get along with people, never talked baby talk to me, but God how he loved this dog. I truly believe there was an angel living inside her. Now Dad is gone too and though it hurt, I am so glad I gave him his 12 wonderful years with his best friend.

Willie Nelson at 80 captures something special in American music

The gorgeous musicians Norah Jones and Sheryl Crow surround the 80-year-old unique Willie Nelse on the eve (almost) of his new album

Willie Nelson, who turned 80 in the spring, releases "To All the Girls" with 18 duets with top female performers from Mavis Staples to Sheryl Crow to Norah Jones to Loretta Lynn and more more more. Rolling Stone magazine especially likes "From Here to the Moon and Back" with Dolly Parton, writing that, "on this simple, gorgeous version, her softly soaring vocals pair perfectly with Nelson's delicate croak amidst sighing strings and steel guitar."  It is sweet. I'm not a fan of country music unless it's special and reflects the music of the people or "folk music," and not slickly produced Nashville packaged dreck. But everyone on this album is a one-of-a-kind and very special reflection of who we are and what American music IS and how it became this wonderful thing that it is. This is part of of who America is.

To All the Girls, special CD to be released September 24, songs by the special women of country music
Link:  To All the Girls