Shinedown: Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom) Meaning
Song Released: 2010
Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom) Lyrics
I am the ghost, that hides in the night
Boom-lay boom-lay, boom! (repeat x4)
Wait, wait a minute take a step back,
Gotta think twice before you react.
So stay, stay a little while cause a...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:(the anonymous person that responded on Feb. 7th)
First, I would like to acknowledge and thank Scott Funk for serving in the military, I salute you, sir! =D
Second, I also have another interpretation for a different part of the song: the 3rd verse
"Every night of my life, I watch angels fall from the sky"probably means: that he has seen a lot of people die, and the angels come down to take their souls to heaven; and "Every night that the sun still sets, I pray they don't take mine" probably means: that he hopes that it's his time to die yet.
I got this idea from another website, but I can't find it again; just thought you would like to know about it) -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:I met them in 2006 in Kuwait when my unit was staging to go to Iraq. They were on a MWR tour and played a mean set as if there were 40,000 people, though there were less than a thousand of us there. They were very humble. We wanted to thank and praise them for their performsnce, but they insisted we were the heroes and thanked us. We took pictures with them and got autographs and gave them our unit patches. It was a great experience. If this song isn't about us, don't tell me. It has been a source of strength and pride for me when I look back at the experiences I had with my fellow soldiers. I look at it as an extension of the thanks they gave us thst night and I will be forever grateful to them for this song.
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:It is definitely a song about war. Diamond eyes could mean 2 things. Yes hardened or crystal clear. I take it as being in a place seeing people living day to day just to survive. No media, no BS just life in it's raw form. Listen to the lyrics and take them literally. As a returning soldier from Afghanistan this song really does hit home.
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I agree with most of interpretations above. It's obviously a song about war and how it changes a human being. In my opinion the key is understanding the "Diamond Eyes" concept. As many of the interpretations say, it could mean eyes that see clearly the real world, the naked one, full of lies, fears and dangers. But I think there's more. He's "seeing the world through Diamond Eyes" so he sees through a diamond. Imagine yourself taking a diamond and see through it: all faces of the three-dimensional diamond would give you many projections of the same reality. In our case, this could mean that he not only sees clearly, but does it from all the points of view, with all the facets, so with pity and understanding torwards any other human being, any other thought, any other way of thinking.
In my opinion this metaphor is brilliant, so much respect for Shinedown. -
Everyone is saying that this is a war song and about soldiers and the hell they face
But actually I think the song is a double entendre of sorts.
I thinks the song is about real political wars and wars in life or with one self
"One push is all you need"
"A fist first philosophy"
"We watch with wounded eyes"
This is where I think the double entendre really sticks because in political wars you fight with weapons such as guns, tanks, swords, etc. But in personal wars both mental and physical you fight with your fists because you "beat yourself up" And you "beat up the naysayers"
The whole "We watch with wounded eyes" is talking about how someone can see and feel so much pain in their lives and sometimes they choose to hide it behind their eyes rather than share their sorrows with comrades and family.
As someone who deals with mental health issues on a daily basis this song hits homes for me as it's about the mental and physical wars I fight with myself on the daily basis, and having had a few family members who went to war this song I feel can relate to them too in a sense.
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Everyone talks about the hardened eyes, but somehow I don't think that's the case. Going into battle causes clarity, and with that a realization that one may not go home. Saying good bye to weakness and regret can also cause a bitter sweet feeling, causing one to tear up, especially if there's loved ones in the memories... Diamonds sparkle, as do tearful eyes... Then they're wiped away
Just a thought based on conversations with veterans.
- Bair -
I agree with most of the above except the angels part,
As a Kosovo and Afganfistan operative I think the angels dieing is the guardian angels looking over fellow teammates -
Sylvester Stone, requested that Shinedown make a song for the Expendables. If you want the meaning of the lyrics, watch the movie! It's pretty much self explanatory. It's pretty much about standing up and not being afraid, and ready to fight for your cause. Later though, it is expressed that the character has some fear, and prays that he will stay. But then he shakes it off and is ready and fearless again.
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Most people seem to look over the fact that the song mentions the main character in it seeing another like himself who is actually the same as him "A suicidal maniac with nothing to lose" (actual lyrics there). It's also mentioned that this is the exception to the rule, as in we only see war in one direction and don't think of the other side. Someone with nothing to lose and scared is just the enemy in our eyes but seeing the world through diamond eyes he now sees that every one is a victim not just him or his country and they are all just pawns to the higher forces. At the beginning he is forced into the war because he waited to long to act on something important that he wanted to do. I agree with most other things mentioned before, I just thought this needed to be brought up.
Sorry about the typo filled first one I sent up without proof reading again. XD -
Most people seem to look over the fact that the song mentions the main character in it seeing another like himself who is actually the same as him "A suicidal manic with nothing to lose" (actual lyrics there). It's also mentioned that this is the exception to the rule, as in we only see war in one direction and don't think of the other side. Someone with nothing to lose and scared. Seeing the world through diamond eyes he now sees that every one is a victim not just him or his country and they are all just pawns to the higher forces. At the beginning he is forced into the war because he waited to long to act on something important that he wanted to do. I agree with most other things mentioned before, I just thought this needed to be brought up.
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This song was written for the movie The Expendables. It is about war and how it's seen through soldiers eyes.
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honestly i dont think that boom-lay has any mean but to be an onomonopia for war sounds. as in the boom of a cannon on a tank or bombs and granades going off. and he is singing about someone who is at war watching all of the stuff happen. as for his wounded eyes. that could mean that he is not use to seeing the death but then he wathces through diamond eyes becuz the war has harded him and he is use to seeing death. the angel part is probuly a metaphore for morters and he hopes they dont kill him while he is sleeping. thats my thought of it because the song is about war.
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Everyone is looking at pieces of it and not the sum of its parts. In the beginning he is green. He talks about being hesitant.As the song goes on he is thrust into war. He lets go of weakness and regrets because he must to survive. He doesn't care what you think,(Is he a sinner or a saint?),it is all about staying alive. In the end he knows he is still alive.His hardened diamond eyes have kept him alive.
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Itis about a war of life and taking a chance with it not a gun war it is the war of life.
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The song is obviously about how war affects people and the war itself, but i think the title , Diamond Eyes means that if you have been through war, you see the world in a new , clearer way.
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Life is a wonderful thing when you have been to the gates of hell...
Ooh Rah ! -
I think the term "Diamond Eyes" refers to the hardened, thousand-yard stare that soldiers develop after too much time in battle.
I interpret the phrase about "Angels fall from the sky" to be ironic. A reference to the missiles that are flying over head. As a Desert Storm veteran, I have seen missiles launched at SCUD's first hand and they could be seen as angelic if they keep the SCUD's from hitting you.
This song really hits home for me. I feel like I should be "over there" but I have to many responsibilities now and I am too old to volounteer. I guess I have a case of "Survivor's Guilt" in a way. -
I took it to mean something completely different. It might be about real war but could also have meaning to the "wars" of life that you battle. A bad experience that left you wounded could make you ready to see the world through diamond eyes - meaning you see the world in more than one light - you see it for all it is - good and bad. Letting go of the weakness and the regrets could mean letting go of the person or the things that caused you to be weak in the first place. It could definitely be a song about letting go of the past and refocusing on the future with a new perspective on things.
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