"I think it's about Joan's relationship with Bob Dylan."
"It is. The diamonds are tears and the rust comes when they fall and dry."
---
"What really is the core issue is: Did Bob really love Joan or was she just a 'deviation' for him when he broke up with Suze.
In response to this, I think Dylan absolutely loved Joan Baez, he was just unable to express it in a way that was adequate for either of them. In "No Direction Home", when he's talking about her and how careless he was with her, Dylan says "It's hard to be wise and in love at the same time." For Dylan, that's such a vulnerable statement, and I think a very telling one."
---
"You gonna sing that song about robin's eggs and diamonds?" Bob had asked me on the first day of rehearsals.
"Which one?"
"You know, that one about blue eyes and diamonds..."
"Oh", I said, "you must mean 'Diamonds And Rust', the song I wrote for my husband, David. I wrote it while he was in prison."
"For your husband?" Bob said.
"Yeah. Who did you think it was about?" I stonewalled.
"Oh, hey, what the fuck do I know?"
"Never mind. Yeah, I'll sing it, if you like."
- Joan Baez, AND A VOICE TO SING WITH, 1987