Song-By-Song Commentary By Neil Diamond
"I Haven't Played this Song In Years":
"I opened the album with the most painful song that I had, and the most brutally honest, in the hope it would hold up from there. It's about love, self-examination, reflection, hopes for the future, what I've learned over the years. Basically, it's about me. For better and for worse."
"Don't Look Down":
"It is advice to anybody attempting to make a climb to somewhere, not necessarily the top of the charts, but maybe to the top of their profession. It applies to a doctor as well as a songwriter or performer. Just me looking back and giving advice to younger people. I wanted to be as concise as possible. Just keep climbing and worry about the rest when you get to the place you're working toward."
"I Believe In Happy Endings":
"It's important for my mental state to have that optimism because, without that, I could never have gotten through the last 35 years and made it alive. Many of my contemporaries did not and I feel sorry for all the talent that was lost along the way. I'm an incurable optimist, even under the worst of circumstances. I look for that pin-prick of hope. That's part of every song I've ever written. None of my songs ends with the guy feeling like he's going to shoot himself."
"At The Movies":
"I think most people love the movies. I just wanted to sum up the movie-going experience and what it sparks in the imagination. I wanted to have some fun. It's certainly not a serious song."
"Midnight Dream":
"The song talks about what happens when you blow a relationship that could have been very special. It's a reflection that trying to put something back together like that is a dream, something that's never going to happen, as much as I can sit and hope for it."
"You Are The Best Part Of Me":
"A very simple, direct statement of devotion and honesty. I couldn't say it any clearer. Every one of these songs is tied to something in my life. Not only does the singer realize this statement is true, he's very willing to say it to the other person. I think it's easier for me to say these things in a song because I can hide behind the art of it."
"Baby Let's Drive":
"A very, very common thread in rock songs is to say, 'Let's get the heck out of here and find another place because this is not where we belong.'"
"My Special Someone":
"Very direct, unadorned, honest and stark, pretty much the way my better songs are because of the way I sing. There are no tricks. This is what it is and what I am and I hope you like it. I was going for the truth as I see it today. It's the kind of song I write pretty naturally."
"A Mission Of Love":
"I just can't resist this kind of song. It was harder to write than I thought because the chorus spells out the word 'l-o-v-e' alongside these sort of 'scat' sounds and it was tricky getting it all to fit together. I wanted to make it work and feel good, too, and I'm very happy with the final result."
"Elijah's Song":
"I knew I wanted to write something for my new grandson, Elijah, and this is a melody I had kicking around for a number of years. The words just came out as a lullaby to him. He loves it. But now I've set a precedent in my family because I have two other grandchildren. Guess I'll just have to leave the title blank and fill in their names."
"Leave A Little Room For God":
"God has always been an important part of my music. I've always believed He is a part of your life in the here and now. The title came from a sign over the entrance of a friend's recording studio. And I thought it had more applications. The song kind of made people look at me a little weird, especially at the record label. I'm not a particularly religious person, but I have always been very spiritual and a true believer in some kind of higher authority, which is reflected in the songs. Whether it was commercial or not was irrelevant to me. It was truthful and that was the most important thing."
"Turn Down The Lights":
"It's kind of a good-night song. I thought of it in terms of something I might play at the end of a concert after the audience came down from the emotional highs, the sound, the lights, the whole thing. It somehow all comes down to the two of us being in that moment of togetherness. And that's basically what I tried to express with it."