Ashes and Diamonds
Post date:
Liner Notes:
WHEN: Sunday Skirmish September 5,2021 8pm BST, 3pm EDT, 2pm CT, 12noon PDT
THEME/TITLE: "GEM" - Any Jewel, Gem, Mineral, as in “Band of Gold”, “Ruby Tuesday”, “Diamond Girl” “Crystal Blue Persuasion”
TAGS: skirmish, songskirmish, s090521, feast, gem
WHAT: We will have a one hour skirmish to write to a prompt.*
HOST: @corinne54
Okay, so apparently I do not have a happy song in my system at this time. Everything's quite apocalyptic, I'm afraid. Not sure how I feel about this overall, but it's a skirmish, so I'll give it some time to ferment.
NOTE: AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, not the place for political discussion. Please keep comments songwriting-focused. Thx.
Lyrics:
VERSE 1
Clickbait headlines
Keep you living in fear
Never get the facts before
New preoccupations appear
Entertain yourself
While the clock is ticking down
The latest gossip
Will grab your attention
While you ignore
The increasing dissension
Apathy is the flood in which
We all drown
CHORUS
These are the days of
Ashes and diamonds
Glittery distractions and
Social media icons
Curated lives on
Private islands
Can't see the false prophets
To the enlightened
Can't see Armageddon's
On the horizon
Soon there'll be nothing left but
Ashes and diamonds
VERSE 2
Mother Nature
Is screaming in rage
As we revel in
The Industrial Age
Pass it down till there's no one left
To clean up the mess
And lakes dry up
While cities sink
Deficits rise While
Paychecks shrink
We all pay our tribute
To the demigods of progress
CHORUS
These are the days of
Ashes and diamonds
Glittery distractions and
Social media icons
Curated lives on
Private islands
Can't see the false prophets
To the enlightened
Can't see Armageddon's
On the horizon
Soon there'll be nothing left but
Ashes and diamonds
BRIDGE
We're the architects
Of our own demise
We're the peddlers of
Self-destructive lies
As the world crumbles
Under our feet
We'll pretend it's fine
And dance in the street
CHORUS
These are the days of
Ashes and diamonds
Glittery distractions and
Social media icons
Curated lives on
Private islands
Can't see the false prophets
To the enlightened
Can't see Armageddon's
On the horizon
Soon there'll be nothing left but
Ashes and diamonds
© 2021 R. C. Richardson
All Rights Reserved
Please keep your comments respectful, honest, and constructive. Please focus on the song and not the demo.
Comments
Wow! This is powerfully true . I don't think I could have said it better myself. Excellent writing. A lot of really good clever lines in there.
You'll get no argument from me with these lyrics. Really strong, impassioned writing
Yup, pretty dark. Not unjustified in any way, but dark. "Ashes and diamonds" is a powerful image. Good skirmish
Wow! A great and powerful take on the skirmish!
saw a polish movie with this title about political assassinations. never encoun tered the phrase outside of that context so am struggling with its application to your lyric.
Powerful lyrics and cool take on the prompt.
Really like the imagery ashes and diamonds provoke! Good powerful lyric I enjoyed a lot. I'm a firm believer in just writing/playing what you feel and not forcing anything, its how you get gems like this.......ugh didn't mean that pun on the prompt
What a strong write! A tough message delivered in a powerful way. "Apathy is the flood in which we all drown" stood out to me as an especially striking line. Great skirmish!
Wow! This is absolutely fabulous! You packed so much insight and wisdom in here. It is powerful, timely, relevant! Fantastic!!!
very very effective and powerful lyric! love the images of 'ashes and diamonds' (and since there's carbon in both, its kind of related, i guess?) really smart and effective- and I like how you catalog a number of things giving enough specifics to really make the lyric matter, yet not being bogged down in making the argument- very well done! I did a last minute skirmish entry for this 'gen' skirmish, tho went in a more vague direction.
This is an AMAZING use of the prompt, it bites a bit and does not apologize for what it's saying. The lyrics feel very rhythmic and flow so nicely. Really nice work!