Dear Diamond

"Dear Diamond"-Miranda Lambert

Dear diamond
Pretty and new
Perfectly flawed too good to be true
Dear diamond
You shine like the sun
Wrap around my finger just like he does

You cost more than he wanted to lose
And with this ring I said I do
Promised to never do what I’ve done
I’ve been lying to someone

Dear diamond
What will we do?
Lie like the devil or just face the truth
Dear diamond
Be my saving grace
What he don’t know will kill him
That I can’t face

You cost more than he wanted to lose
And with this ring I said I do
I promised to never do what I’ve done
I’ve been lying to someone
Dear diamond

Dear diamond
With your band of gold
Some people you have, some people you hold
Dear diamond
I promise to keep
This secret I have while he’s holding me

Country singers have a long history of heart wrenching break-up songs outlining the, “belief that pride is the chief cause in the decline in the numbers of husbands and wives” (Brooks and Dunn). The song, “Dear Diamond” by Miranda Lambert is no exception. Marriage is like writing a novel, there is no simple outline, but there are many ways to write the book. Sometimes the novel becomes a classic, withstanding the tests of time; others barely make it to print. The diamond in this song symbolizes marriage.  The line, “some people you have, some people you hold,” alludes to wedding vows and the commitment that getting married entails.  Some couples elope and then proceed to file for divorce months later, while others hold onto their relationship. The diamond is a paradox, “perfectly flawed, too good to be true,” because to her husband the marriage seems flawless, but she has been unfaithful. “Dear Diamond” is written as a song, but is also poem filled with imagery that paints a story in the listener's mind. The ring “wrap[s] ‘round [her] figure, just like he does” is a simile that describes the devotion her husband has for her. A more obvious simile is that the diamond, “shines like the sun.”  There is assonance in the line “too good to be true”, which is highlighted as the singer’s country accent draws out the “o” sound. This contrite poem expresses the singer’s remorse of having been unfaithful to her husband. Throughout the song, the diamond is personified as she asks the diamond, “What should we do?” Her husband loves her, and the line “what he don’t know will kill him” is a hyperbole of the anguish he would feel if he found out. This act of unfaithfulness should shame the singer. It is apparent that, "Dear Diamond" is not only an alluring song, but also a captivating poem.