Diamonds and rust¹ 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 were 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 diamond and rust
Well, you burst on the scene were already a legend
The unwatched 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
Could keep you unharmed
Now I see you standing^{2 with brown leaves falling all around
Snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window of that crummy hotel over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white cloud mingles3 and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly4 for me
We both could've died then and there
Now you're telling me you're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who're so good with words and at keeping thing vague
Cause I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes , I love you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid}

鉆石與鐵銹瓊拜雅
我的老天！
你的魅影又再度出現
但這并不是不一般
只因今晚滿月，你恰巧又打電話來
我坐在這兒，手持聽筒
聽著幾個光年以前就很了解的聲音
籌備第三受傷
依稀記得你的眼睛
比知更鳥的蛋更藍
你說我寫得詩糟透了
你從那里打電話來？
在中西部的某個電話亭
十年前我買過袖扣送你
你亦回贈了一些東西給我
大家都了解回憶可以給大家什么
它們給了大家鉆石與鐵銹
當你鋒芒乍現的情景，已然成了傳奇
仿佛讓人沒辦法逼視的自然現象
原本是個流浪者，你漂泊入我的臂彎
而你的停留，如海上的短暫迷航
遭到圣母的眷顧
是的，這個女生像蚌殼一般
能保護你不被傷害
現在，我看到你佇立在黃葉紛飛中
發上覆著白雪
你微笑著，在那可以遠眺華盛頓廣場的小旅館窗前
你我呼出的氣如云霧般交錯，凝結在冷空氣中
對我來講
當時氛圍凝重，仿佛能致你我于死地
現在你對我說，你并不懷鄉念舊
那樣請你找另一個字來代替
你向來擅于咬文嚼字，使之曖昧難懂
由于目前我正需要那樣的曖昧
過去的所有都太明確了
是的，我深愛著你
假如你又給我鉆石與鐵銹
對你說，我已付出過代價了

Joan Baez 瓊拜雅這位美國民謠之后，有好幾首學吉他者應具備的傳世之作，如 Donna , Donna 、 The night they drove old Dixies down 及 Diamonds and rust 等。
瓊拜雅的嗓音清亮純凈，方法成熟，很多知名作曲家都樂意提供作品給她，因而她比較知名的曲子大都不是自己所寫， Diamonds and rust 是她自己譜寫的歌曲中最為人熟悉的一首。
這首歌的歌詞冗長，意象繁復，很難知道其中意涵，緣由是歌詞中所講的是瓊拜雅個人的一段戀愛。
瓊拜雅于 50 年代末投入美國民歌運動，進入 60 年代，她遇到了巴布狄倫（Bob Dylan，被尊稱為民謠搖滾之父，寫過多首名曲），兩人惺惺相惜，彼此都十分賞識他們的才華，而展開了一段秘密戀愛。這段感情最后無疾而終，1975 年，瓊拜雅寫下這首曲子，紀念當年兩人亦師亦友的感情，后來鉆石與鐵銹也被覺得是她最好的一首創作曲。

注 : robin's egg 知更鳥的蛋，蛋殼是淡藍色的。