Sonic Youth – The Diamond Sea

A somber little song i heard on Sirius XMU the other day (formerly Left of Center). If i like a song and i want to know more about it i head to songmeanings to analyze what i fail to piece together. Luckily there are some brains on there that like to do the difficult work for me. After the break is one commentors opinion of Sonic Youth’s little treasure.

Jeremybrendan @ songmeanings.net
09-16-2007   

I think that Thurston Moore may be talking about his good friend Kurt Cobain. I'm not sure when this song was released, but several lyrical couplets are telling in this regard:

"Time takes its crazy toll
and how does your mirror grow
you better watch yourself when you jump into it
'cause the mirror's gonna steal your soul"

I see this as an artist looking at themselves and trying to create an image, and then eventually buying into that image and believing that they are the image they built in their minds. Sort of like how Kurt became a rockstar junkie, because the artists he grew up listening to were drug addicts and larger than life in his eyes...

"I wonder how it came to be my friend
that someone just like you has come again
you'll never, never know how close you came
until you fall in love with the diamond rain "

I think they're talking about drugs at this point...It's hard to believe that anyone would subject themselves to traumatic drug abuse until they've actually done it..."Falling in love with the diamond rain" would then mean getting hooked on something...

"look into his eyes and you can see
why all the little kids are dressed in dreams
I wonder how he's gonna make it back
when he sees that you just know it's make-belief "

This is a pat on the head of their friend...If you look in Kurt's eyes, you can see the drive and beauty and determination to make his art, and the kids (ie. his fans) actually changed their dress code from designer etc. to flannel, changed their whole scene after watching him on MTV.

"time takes its crazy toll
mirror fallin' off the wall
you better look out for the looking glass girl
'cause she's gonna take you for a fall "

Kurt and Courtney ...the boy looking into the mirror and seeing the looking-glass girl, a reference to Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass...Curiouser and curiouser. Obviously, Kurt and Courtney were both junkies & also rock stars so I don't have to spell it out, do I?

Anyhow, maybe my reading is too literal but that is what I think Thurston was thinking of when he wrote the song. It could also be an exercise in generalities and things that rhyme...There is no way to be certain with these indie rock demigods.