Released: 2020
“Diamonds” by Sam Smith tells the tale of a love turned sour, where materialism overpowers genuine emotion. It delves into the personal cost of unrequited dedication and the lure of material wealth, visualized through the metaphor of ‘diamonds’.
Opening with an ostentatious repetition of ‘Diamonds,’ Sam Smith sets a tone of overindulgence and excess, mirroring a relationship filled with materialistic obsession. ‘Have it all, Rip our memories off the wall, all the special things I bought, they mean nothing to me anymore,’ Smith reflects on how their partner was more interested in the material benefits that their relationship provided rather than in emotional connection. The symbols of their affection, represented by ‘the special things I bought,’ have lost their value, just like the relationship.
As the chorus starts, ‘Take all the money you want from me, Hope you become what you want to be, Show me how little you care’, Smith expresses a sense of disillusionment with how the love interest only seemed interested in wealth and didn’t really value the emotional aspects of their relationship. Here, the line ‘You dream of glitter and gold,’ solidifies the materialistic nature of his partner. It’s a stylish way of showing how his partner’s true intentions were always masked by the deceptive allure of wealth.
The use of the phrase “My diamonds leave with you” evokes the sense of loss implicit in the end of their relationship – the value, the wealth, the emotional investment symbolised by ‘diamonds’ is now gone, leaving them empty. This line acts as a potent metaphor for the emptiness left behind when a relationship based on superficial values ends.
The second verse follows a similar route, emphasizing his partner’s deception and reaffirming the misplaced trust Smith had placed in them. ‘Shake the fear of feeling lost, Always me that pays the cost, I should never trust so easily, You lied to me, then left with my heart round your chest,’ here, Smith accepts his naivety and acknowledges the price he had to pay for his blinded trust.
The song’s repetitive hook with constant reference to ‘diamonds’ keeps asserting that all he’s left with in the end is the bitter understanding of his partner’s true, materialistic nature. The pain of loss and the notion of his love interest successfully fooling him is compounded by the fact that his ‘diamonds’, both metaphorical and literal, left with them.
In conclusion, “Diamonds” by Sam Smith is a deep dive into the hollow emptiness of a relationship rooted in material gain and the resultant emotional bankruptcy when such a relationship ends. It’s a profound critique of materialistic love, and a warning of the deceptive allure of ‘glitter and gold’.
