Intro :
U p on the white veranda
S he wears a necktie and a Pa nama hat.
H er passport shows a face
F rom another time and p lace
She looks nothin' like that.
A nd all the remnants of her recent past
A re sca ttered in the wild wind.
S he walks across the marble floor
W here a voice fro m the gambling r oom is callin' her to co me on in.
S he smiles walks the other wa y
As the l ast sh ip sai ls an d the mo on fades awa y
From B lack D iamond Bay.
A s the mornin' light breaks open the Greek comes down
A nd he asks for a rope and a pen that will write.
" Pardon monsieur" the desk clerk says
C arefully removes his fez
"Am I hearin' you right?"
A nd as the yellow fog is lif tin'
T he Gre ek is quickly headin' for the second floor.
S he passes him on the spiral staircase
T hink in' he's the Soviet Ambassad or
S he starts to speak but he wa lks away
A s the storm cloud s rise a nd the palm branches sway
O n Blac k Diam ond B ay.
A soldier sits beneath the fan
D oin' business with a tiny man who se lls him a ring.
L ightning strikes the lights blow out.
T he desk clerk wakes and begins to sho ut
"Can you see anything?"
T hen the Greek appears on the second floor
I n his bare feet with a rope around his n eck
While a loser in the gambling room lights up a candle
S ays "Open up another deck."
B ut the dealer say s "A ttendez-vous s'il vo us plait''
A s the r ain beats do wn and the cr anes fl y awa y
F rom Blac k Diam ond Ba y.
T he desk clerk heard the woman laugh
A s he looked around the aftermath and the soldier got tou gh.
H e tried to grab the woman's hand
S aid "Here's a ring it cost a gran d."
She said "That ain't enough."
T hen she ran upstairs to pack her b ags
W hile a horse-drawn taxi waited at the curb.
She passed the door that the Greek had locked
W here a handwritten sign read "Do Not Disturb."
S he kn ocked u pon it anywa y
A s the sun w ent down and the m usic did play
O n Bla ck Diam ond Ba y.
" I've got to talk to someone quick!"
B ut the Greek said "Go away" and he kicked the ch air to the floor.
H e hung there from the chandelier.
S he cried "Help there's danger ne ar
Please open up the door!"
T hen the volcano erup ted
A nd the lava flowed down from the mountain high a bove.
T he soldier and the tiny man were crouched in the corner
Thinking of forbidden love.
B ut the des k cle rk said "It happens every day"
A s the stars fell dow n and the fields b urne d awa y
O n Bla ck Dia mond Ba y.
A s the island slowly sank
T he loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room.
T he dealer said "It's too late now.
Y ou can take your money but I don't know how
You'll spend it in the tomb."
T he tiny man bit the soldier's ear
A s the floor caved in and the boiler in the base ment blew
W hile she's out on the balcony where a stranger tells her
"My darling je vous aime beaucoup."
S he sheds a t ear and then begins to pra y
A s the fire burns on and the smoke drif ts a way
F rom Bl ack Dia mond Ba y.
I was sittin' home alone one night in L.A.
W atchin' old Cronkite on the seven o'clock news.
I t seems there was an earthquake that
L eft nothin' but a Panama h at
And a pair of old Greek shoes.
D idn't seem like much was happeni n'
S o I turned it off and went to grab another bee r.
S eems like every time you turn around
There's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear
A nd there's really not hin' an yone can sa y
A nd I neve r did pl an t o go anywa y
T o Bl ack Di amond Ba y.
