Cockburn's early albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his brilliant guitar playing. In fact, there were a good number of instrumental guitar numbers on those early recordings. A Christian element came into his music around the time of the album Salt, Sun and Time, and over time his writing has taken on a stronger and stronger political orientation.
Perhaps the most consistent element of Cockburn's music has been his willingness to change and evolve over time. In this way, he is similar to fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
He has had a couple of radio hits in the United States, including (Wondering Where the Lions Are and If I Had a Rocket Launcher).
His albums in the 80s are considered some of his strongest, including Humans, Inner City Front, Stealing Fire, and Big Circumstance. After Big Circumstance he struggled with writer's block, and his output began to slow down; but he recovered with the formidable Nothing But a Burning Light, which led the way back to a sparer, more folk-oriented form of music. His later album The Charity of Night contains one of his most thoughtful songs, Pacing the Cage.
His 2006 album Life Short Call Now was preceded by Speechless, a collection of instrumentals, many of them from earlier albums. The album highlights Cockburn's prodigious abilities as a guitarist.
Cockburn's 31st studio album,Small Source of Comfort was released in March, 2011. BruceCockburn.com called the album "an adventurous collection of songs of romance, protest and spiritual discovery. The album, primarily acoustic yet rhythmically savvy, is rich in Cockburn’s characteristic blend of folk, blues, jazz and rock."
All the diamonds
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That mean anything to me
Are conjured up by wind and sunlight
Sparkling on the sea
I ran aground in a harbor town
Lost the taste for being free
Thank God He sent some gull-chased ship
Two thousand years and half a world away
Dying trees still grow greener when you pray
Silver scales flash bright and fade
In reeds along the shore
Like a pearl in sea of liquid jade
His ship comes shining
Like a crystal swan in a sky of suns
His ship comes shining
The lyrics of Bruce Cockburn's song "All the diamonds in this world" are about the treasures that mean the most to the songwriter. Despite the title, the diamonds he values are not those buried beneath the earth, but those that manifest through nature, particularly wind and sunlight reflected on the sea. These symbols of beauty inspire Cockburn to reflect on his life's journey from a time when he "ran aground in a harbor town," to his current state of thankfulness for being "carried to sea" on the "gull-chased ship."
The song's reflective nature takes a turn toward faith with the line, "Two thousand years and half a world away, dying trees still grow greener when you pray." This line speaks to the faith that the songwriter has that prayer can have a transformative effect on nature and life. The song's final stanza, "Silver scales flash bright and fade, in reeds along the shore, like a pearl in sea of liquid jade, his ship comes shining, like a crystal swan in a sky of suns, his ship comes shining," once again focuses on the beauty of the natural world and his faith in a divine handiwork.
Line by Line Meaning
All the diamonds in this world
The only valuable things in this world are the natural beauty of wind and sunlight on the sea
That mean anything to me
I don't care about material possessions, only nature's beauty has worth to me
Are conjured up by wind and sunlight
These priceless things are created by the mystical, magical qualities of wind and light
Sparkling on the sea
The sea's reflective surface magnifies the beauty of the sun and wind on its surface
I ran aground in a harbor town
I lost my way in life and became stagnant in a safe, familiar place
Lost the taste for being free
I forgot the feeling of liberation and adventure, and traded it for the security of familiarity
Thank God He sent some gull-chased ship
I am grateful that I was rescued by a divine force, symbolized by the ship being chased by a bird
To carry me to sea
He was taken away from the stagnant harbor and taken back to the sea, symbolically representing freedom and adventure
Two thousand years and half a world away
Despite the passing of centuries and the distance between cultures, nature still has mystical qualities
Dying trees still grow greener when you pray
Spirits and nature can be revitalized by prayer and the power of positive thinking
Silver scales flash bright and fade
The beauty of nature can be fleeting and temporary, like a fish flashing in the light
In reeds along the shore
The natural setting where the fish swim and flash their scales
Like a pearl in sea of liquid jade
The beauty of nature is rare and priceless, like a pearl in the ocean of green plants
His ship comes shining
Divine intervention is represented by the shining light from the ship
Like a crystal swan in a sky of suns
The ship's brilliance is as unique and majestic as a crystal swan in the sky
His ship comes shining
The divine force came to save and lead the artist back to the life of adventure and freedom
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bruce Cockburn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
RAE DAWN
One of the most brilliant songwriter s of all time thank God he sent some gull chased ship called Bruce down to meet us in the harbour town...always a great honour and pleasure to listen to the beautiful words and songs of a very great man...thank you Bruce
James C
Thanks for your honest and sincere love towards my work,we have you to be most thankful for . 💓🙏🙏🌹
Rae Zola
@James C wow I was just cleaning my boxes and found your comment so cool all timed by the great one ...such an inspiration for me over the years thank u again hiy hiy !!!I was just practicing my songs this morning uh well I need a little work but if you ever get the notion I am on Soundcloud and Reverbnations Rae Dawn Irene Irving / my bands name is Rae Dawn @ The Eco systems Have a good one !!
Rae Zola
@James C thank you !! I just got a new ph android will be in touch
GrikWorldNomad
@Rae Zola I just rediscovered Bruce after about 20 years or so, lost in the shuffle. Thanks for your comment, captures it beautifully. Such a pleasure to find something again.....
Ranjit Souri
What beautiful work you have done with this video. This is one of my favorite songs in the world, and you actually did it justice with your video. I'll bet that Bruce himself probably loves your video if he's gotten to see it.
Tara, “Tara Tarot” Greene
so beautiful, Bruce Cockburn is such a poet
R. W. Smith
Great music from the days in which Bruce produced a lot of Christian music. This one really builds up my faith.
R. W. Smith
@Francis Madigan
Hey Francis, I don't have a clear answer for that. What I did notice was that in the early '80s his music became more political with less of a Christian interpretation as far as I noticed.
Also he moved and began living in sin, so I gather. My IMPRESSION was that his more orthodox Christian faith was not as important as it had been in the '70s. But I could be wrong. I was wrong one other time ... around about 1963 or so. ;)
kate54ish
This video was made as a school project by some Canadian kid over a couple of year's ago..I remember this well. I am so amazed that this video has so many hit's on it. Pleased as well. It fit's this song so well. I hope he/she got an excellent grade or won the prize. In fact I believe it did!