LogFAQs > #954012129

227. Vashti Bunyan Diamond Day (1970)
from the album Just Another Diamond Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-HDcMplduA

Key lyrics:
Just another field to plough
Just a grain of wheat
Just a sack of seed to sow
And the children eat

Vashti Bunyans Diamond Day feels like a hit single from another, quieter dimension. This serene folk song was doomed in our own world; after the commercial failure of this record, Vashti disappeared for several decades, only returning to music once this album gained a cult following. This is the folkiest of folk music, less Bob Dylan and more a peasant song seemingly transposed from an earlier century. Yet Vashti feels simultaneously ahead of her time, considering the future success of Joanna Newsom. This is an artist daring to call upon niche elements in the name of a singular sound.

The song is soft and ephemeral, coming in at less than two minutes. Her voice feels small, suggesting this is not a woman in a recording studio but a farmer softly singing to herself while working the fields. The instrumentation is similarly airy, making stunning use of a recorder and strings. A ton of detail is packed into this tiny song, creating a sound rarely seen in popular music. The easiest and most obvious comparison is to Nick Drake due to the presence of Robert Kirby. But even then, Diamond Day exists on another plane of existence. Where Drake works in grand emotions, this song is an ode to a simple sense of contentment.

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