Music Friday: Rob Thomas Tells a Story of Empathy and Love in 2009’s ‘Her Diamonds’

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 wife’s 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 wife’s tears.

He sings, “And she says oh / I can’t take no more / Her tears like diamonds on the floor / And her diamonds bring me down / Cause I can’t 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 [we’ve had to] deal with that for the last six or seven years,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s really a song about being empathetic, when the person closest to you is going through something and you can’t 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 / She’ll be alright / She’ll 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 20’s 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 you’d like to sing along…

“Her Diamonds”
Written and performed by Rob Thomas.

Oh what the hell she said
I just can’t win for losing
And she lays back down
Man there’s so many times
I don’t know what I’m doing
Like I don’t know now

By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Says it’s funny how the night
Can make you blind
I can just imagine
And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do
But if she feels bad then i do too
So I let her be

And she says oh
I can’t take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cause I can’t help her now
She’s down in it
She tried her best but now she can’t 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 don’t feel right
By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Sits down on the bed and starts to cry
And there’s something less about her
And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do
So I sit down and I cry too
And don’t let her see

And she says oh
I can’t take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cause I can’t help her now
She’s down in it
She tried her best but now she can’t 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
She’ll be alright
She’ll be alright
Just not tonight

And she says oh

I can’t take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cause I can’t help her now
She’s down in it
She tried her best but now she can’t win it
Hard to see them on the ground
Her diamonds falling down

Credit: Photo by R. Cohen.