Black Diamond Bay Chords

  			From his 1976 album 'Desire'. 

Intro: C  Am7  Am  G 


Em 
Up on the white veranda 
C                          G 
She wears a necktie and a Panama hat. 
Em 
Her passport shows a face 
C                     G 
From another time and place 

She looks nothin' like that. 
C                          G 
And all the remnants of her recent past 
Em    G 
Are scattered in the wild wind. 
D 
She walks across the marble floor 
C   D           C               Em                      G 
Where a voice from the gambling room is callin' her to come on in. 
Em                           Am 
She smiles, walks the other way 
       C     D     C    Em      Am          C 
As the last ship sails and the moon fades away 
     C     Am7   Am   G 
From Black Diamond Bay. 

Intro 

Em 
As the mornin' light breaks open, the Greek comes down 
C                          G 
And he asks for a rope and a pen that will write. 
Em 
"Pardon, monsieur," the desk clerk says, 
C                          G 
Carefully removes his fez, 

"Am I hearin' you right?" 
C                          G 
And as the yellow fog is liftin' 
Em    G 
The Greek is quickly headin' for the second floor. 
D 
She passes him on the spiral staircase 
C   D           C               Em                      G 
Thinkin' he's the Soviet Ambassador, 
Em                           Am 
She starts to speak, but he walks away 
C     D     C    Em      Am          C 
As the storm clouds rise and the palm branches sway 
C     Am7   Am   G 
On Black Diamond Bay. 


Intro 
Em 
A soldier sits beneath the fan 
C                                   G 
Doin' business with a tiny man who sells him a ring. 
Em 
Lightning strikes, the lights blow out. 
C                                    G 
The desk clerk wakes and begins to shout, 

"Can you see anything?" 
C                                   G 
Then the Greek appears on the second floor 
Em                                      G 
In his bare feet with a rope around his neck, 

While a loser in the gambling room lights up a candle, 
D 
Says, "Open up another deck." 
C                D    C                    Em 
But the dealer says, "Attendez-vous, s'il vous plait,'' 
C      D           C            Em     Am   C 
As the rain beats down and the cranes fly away 
C       Am7   Am    G 
From Black Diamond Bay. 


intro 
Em 
The desk clerk heard the woman laugh 
C                                                       G 
As he looked around the aftermath and the soldier got tough. 
Em 
He tried to grab the woman's hand, 
C                                  G 
Said, "Here's a ring, it cost a grand." 

She said, "That ain't enough." 
C                                 G 
Then she ran upstairs to pack her bags 
Em                                   G 
While a horse-drawn taxi waited at the curb. 

She passed the door that the Greek had locked, 
D 
Where a handwritten sign read, "Do Not Disturb." 
C    D      C           Em 
She knocked upon it anyway 
C          D                 C       Em  Am C 
As the sun went down and the music did play 
C    Am7    Am    G 
On Black Diamond Bay. 


intro 
Em 
"I've got to talk to someone quick!" 
C                                                 G 
But the Greek said, "Go away," and he kicked the chair to the floor. 
Em 
He hung there from the chandelier. 
C                                 G 
She cried, "Help, there's danger near 

Please open up the door!" 
C                   G 
Then the volcano erupted 
Em                                              G 
And the lava flowed down from the mountain high above. 
D 
The soldier and the tiny man were crouched in the corner 

Thinking of forbidden love. 
C         D    C                         Em 
But the desk clerk said, "It happens every day," 
C                   D                 C  Em   Am C 
As the stars fell down and the fields burned away 
C    Am7   Am     G 
On Black Diamond Bay. 


intro 
Em 
As the island slowly sank 
C                                              G 
The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room. 
Em 
The dealer said, "It's too late now. 
C                                       G 
You can take your money, but I don't know how 

You'll spend it in the tomb." 
C                            G 
The tiny man bit the soldier's ear 
Em                                             G 
As the floor caved in and the boiler in the basement blew, 
D 
While she's out on the balcony, where a stranger tells her, 

"My darling, je vous aime beaucoup." 
C           D       C                 Em 
She sheds a tear and then begins to pray 
C                          D          C Em Am C 
As the fire burns on and the smoke drifts away 
C     Am7    Am     G 
From Black Diamond Bay. 


intro 
Em 
I was sittin' home alone one night in L.A., 
C                                        G 
Watchin' old Cronkite on the seven o'clock news. 
Em 
It seems there was an earthquake that 
C                         G 
Left nothin' but a Panama hat 

And a pair of old Greek shoes. 
C                               G 
Didn't seem like much was happenin', 
Em                                            G 
So I turned it off and went to grab another beer. 
D 
Seems like every time you turn around 

There's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear 
C                    D      C          Em 
And there's really nothin' anyone can say 
C        D       C   Em Am   C 
And I never did plan to go anyway 
C   Am7   Am      G 
To Black Diamond Bay. 


Finish off with intro. 

Enjoy!