Big Thief’s “Black Diamonds” Lyrics Meaning

The lyrics of “Black Diamonds” are very metaphorical – so much so that there are various interpretations available as to what’s going down. It is obvious, reading in between the lines, that the vocalist and addressee are romantically, and may we also say sexually involved. And it is also evident that there is some type of power struggle going on here, as being instigated by the addressee, who is identified as a male. 

So some have acceptably put forth that “Black Diamonds” speaks to gender roles and how they relate to romance-based ideologies. But such offerings are a very-base way of explaining this storyline.

And the reason we know this is because Max Oleartchik has revealed, in his own words, that what the lyrics are actually “speaking to [is] rape, sexual assault”, etc. And it is a good thing that he revealed that backdrop, because with that understanding in mind, the narrative becomes a lot easier to understand.

“Black Diamonds”

Indeed the entirety of this piece alludes to sex being forced upon the female vocalist by the addressee. For instance, the “black diamonds” referred to poetically point to the color of his eyes when he sexually assaults her. 

Concerning gender roles or what have you, what Adrianne is putting forth is a notion like despite such an experience ‘terrifying’ her and being one that she will never forget, she in part feels that being faithful to her partner entails letting him take advantage of her as such. Or as the vocalist puts it, she is ‘making a man out of him’. This implies that perhaps the addressee has maturity or self-image issues. And under Adrianne’s estimation, she is helping him mitigate these issues by letting him abuse her even though she obviously doesn’t want it like that.

Thesis Sentiment

In fact whereas the thesis sentiment may revolve around sympathy for a date rapist, the conclusive sentiment being put forth is that the vocalist “can never leave” him. So in some kind of sick, twisted way – if you will – “Black Diamonds” is actually a love song. The addressee’s shortcomings are such that, as manifested, they are traumatizing and perhaps even physically damaging the vocalist. But she feels that she is doing him a favor by letting him use her in such a capacity.

And finally, it should also be noted that the lyrics imply the vocalist doesn’t really know what’s going on either way. So once again going back to Oleartchik’s explanation, this is indeed “pretty dark stuff”. For really reading in between the lines, this song sounds like it may be the story of a girl who lost her virginity via assault.

Big Thief

Big Thief is a folk-based rock band from Brooklyn. Since around its formation in 2015, it has consisted of:

• Adrianne Lenker (singer)
• Buck Meek (guitarist)
• Max Oleartchik (bassist)
• James Krivchenia (drummer)

All four musicians are graduates of Boston’s Berklee College of Music

The band has released five studio albums between 2016 and 2022, with their projects gradually becoming more successful. For instance, the last of those LPs, “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You”, marks the highest they have peaked thus far on the Billboard 200 (at #31). 

The “Black Diamonds” Song

“Black Diamonds” is the last track to be found on the playlist of their second studio album, 2017’s “Capacity”. Both song and album are products of Saddle Creek Records.

This song was written by Lenker, and its producer is Andrew Sarlo.

To note, “Black Diamonds” was not released as a single. However, it appears to be a fan favorite amongst all of the songs featured on “Capacity”.