ok, neil diamond.
i mean, what’s not to love?
but ‘i am, i said'(arguably his finest moment, in my opinion…)has some of the strangest lyrics ever written.
here they are, with my comments(in parentheses)
neil diamond – i am i said lyrics
l.a.’s fine, the sun shines most the time
and the feeling is ‘laid back’
(true, neil, very true…can i call you ‘neil’? or ‘mr diamond’?)
palm trees grow, and rents are low
(not so sure about the low rents, but, ok,
i’m still with you, ‘neil’. i like that we’re on a first name basis.)
but you know i keep thinkin’ about
making my way back
well i’m new york city born and raised
(hey, me too! we are like soul brothers, ‘neil’.)
but nowadays, i’m lost between two shores
(again, me too! except for me it’s the shores of the east and hudson rivers at present.)
l.a.’s fine, but it ain’t home
new york’s home, but it ain’t mine no more
“i am,” i said
(ok, the leaders in the temple might take issue with this, but ok.)
to no one there
an no one heard at all
not even the chair
(neil, this is where it starts to get weird. ‘not even the chair’? you were expecting maybe the chair would listen?)
“i am,” i cried
“i am,” said i
and i am lost, and i can’t even say why
leavin’ me lonely still
(which is sad, and i’m sorry.)
did you ever read about a frog who dreamed of bein’ a king
and then became one
(well, no. i assume it’s a good story, though, for it to be
referenced in your best song ever.)
well except for the names and a few other changes
i you talk about me, the story’s the same one
(the frog part or the king part?)
but i got an emptiness deep inside
and i’ve tried, but it won’t let me go
and i’m not a man who likes to swear
but i never cared for the sound of being alone
(again, this is odd. how is the sound of being alone a swear? what is the sound of being alone? this confuses me. oh! it’s a koan! i shall ponder it and learn through it’s depiction of emptiness. like one hand clapping. thank you, sensei.)
“i am,” i said
to no one there
an no one heard at all
not even the chair
(i’m starting to get an image of the beginning of apocalypse now when martin sheen goes crazy in the saigon hotel.)
“i am,” i cried
“i am,” said i
and i am lost, and i can’t even say why
leavin’ me lonely still
(well, i hope that you’re feeling better now. it’s still a great song even if some of the lyrics are kind of odd).
written by neil diamond
(parentheses by me)
-moby