Raining diamonds

When something has the potential to go either way.

I wrote my first song lyrics while I was waiting for my liver transplant. I didn’t know how either would turn out.

It was summer 2022, when Jack and I were on a bracing dog walk in the Yorkshire Dales, that we first discussed the possibility of writing a song together. Already an accomplished pianist, songwriter and music producer in his own right, he had been looking for a writer to collaborate with on lyrics. I’ve always been fascinated by how any art gets made, so I was excited to have a chance to be part of a creative process that was new to me.

Later that evening Jack texted: “I want to write a song about wishing upon a star and dreaming big.”

The touch paper was lit. That thrill of holding inspiration in your hands, all set to shape it, has got to be one of the best feelings in the world. I began by drawing together some writing and research about stars and space, a linguistic moodboard that would serve as a launchpad for the lyrics. I stumbled across a fascinating phenomenon that seemed ripe for metaphor picking: evidence suggests that it rains diamonds in space. First, powerful lightning turns clouds of gas into sooty carbon. Then, when the carbon is placed under extreme pressure, it turns to diamonds, which shower down on the planet of Saturn.

This magical concept of raining diamonds not only provided the sparkling language I was looking for, but I also thought it was a beautiful way to think more deeply about the riches that can come out of dark or unchartered places. I was deep into my own voyage into the unknown at that time, because I had been waiting for a donor liver to become available for over twelve months. When I’d joined the NHS Organ Donor Register back in July 2021, I was told to pack a hospital bag and be ready, because a phone call could come at any time, day or night. When it did, I would need to drop what I was doing and go immediately to King’s College Hospital in South London. I couldn’t travel overseas, and I needed to keep my phone switched on 24/7. Every day I had to be prepared for the biggest day of my life, and at the same time, carry on as normal. I had to surrender to the unknown and trust in forces beyond my control for a successful outcome. It was hard.

As I worked on the lyrics, I drew on this feeling of reaching for something without really knowing what it looks like, and questioning whether what we are wishing for is even what we need. How do we ever know if we are doing the right thing or looking in the right places for happiness? The words are laced with doubt and ambiguity, as I was at that time. Is the space inside us an empty void or an opportunity for growth? Does the universe have a plan for us, or is it our job to choose which star to wish upon, and then reach for it? Or, are we already rich in all the resources we need to fulfil our potential in life?

When I handed the lyrics over to Jack, he breathed life into them. With his heartfelt music and vocals, words on paper became animated, a constellation of twinkling piano notes, and a melody that elevates before gently raining down. The muffled sound of an astronaut coming through the radio is a recording of my voice, and I like to think of it as a call from a future self.

One of the writing techniques I use as a copywriter is to try and communicate what matters in as few words as possible. Songs can do that, too. Big feelings can be drawn together into just a few minutes of time, laid out to a rhythm and a flow so we can witness them safely in all their raw beauty, and perhaps understand them better. The songs that make us feel like they are written for and about us are the songs that connect us.

Raining Diamonds is a song about potential. It’s about gazing up at a starry night sky, balanced at the tipping point of infinite possibilities. Through the process of writing the lyrics, I stepped into the unknown and discovered a deep connection to some universal truths, which Jack articulated in the most profound way. I couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out.

Listen to the song.

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RAINING DIAMONDS
by Jack Watkins

Written by Jack Watkins & Clare Yarwood-White

Reaching out for the universe
When all of space is inside of me
A billion stars are the prickles of dreams
Sparks in my heart waiting to ignite

There’s infinity
Inside of me
The void for
The space for
My own constellation
There’s infinity
Inside of me
The pattern
My Saturn
It’s raining diamonds
It’s raining diamonds

Liquid moonlight runs through my veins
It shimmers and it burns with molten hope
A trillion wishes for more than this
The sky is heavy but my head feels so light

There’s infinity
Inside of me
The void for
The space for
My own constellation
There’s infinity
Inside of me
The pattern
My Saturn
It’s raining diamonds
It’s raining diamonds

(A giant leap for one single man)
Is there anybody out there?
(A giant leap for one single man)
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody out there?
It’s raining diamonds

There’s infinity
Inside of me
The void for
The space for
My own constellation
There’s infinity
Inside of me
The pattern
My Saturn
It’s raining diamonds
It’s raining diamonds

Reaching out for the universe
When all of space is inside of me