Note:
“Diamonds To Coal” is essentially a simple song of repentance, (“Go ahead and do it Lord; change my diamonds to coal.” I was attempting to convey the sense of desperation, (as well as the courage), often necessary to compel someone to offer up such a truly sacrificial, heartfelt prayer; sometimes it comes only when we have hit rock bottom. This is a conscious act of absolute surrender, consequences notwithstanding.
Before my conversion, while I never did possess an inordinate love of money (I didn’t have any at the time, and I had no all-consuming desire to obtain it)), I nevertheless possessed my share of less than desirable attitudes and behaviors to which I steadfastly clung. I may have been thinking of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30), when I wrote the song, and while our Lord is asking a very wealthy young man to make a sacrifice which isn’t one that most of us can identify with in regard to its personal ramifications, (“….if you want to be perfect..sell your possession and give to the poor…then come, follow me”) we never the less possess treasures of ego, pride, lust, jealousy, vanity, and so forth, for which Christ equally requires sacrifice and for which we may feel the same sense of conflict and hesitation equal to that of the young man in the story. I’m thankful that in the process of dying to ourselves, our Lord supplies us the strength to do so.
Let me add that the closest thing to a material “treasure,” I possessed at the time of my conversion (I was just out of High School), was my vinyl record collection, and while I had heard no direct command from the Lord to do so, I decided to give it away to friends and family. It seems like a small thing now, but at the time it was, for me at least, a pretty big deal. No doubt this was in some respect an act of youthful piousness; a swearing off of all things pertaining to what I considered then to be the old sinful life. In another sense it was an act of fidelity; a statement of my commitment to follow the Lord no matter what the cost. I’ve no doubt He was pleased with the sacrifice, whether or not He had demanded it in the first place.
Go ahead and do it, Lord,
Change my diamonds to coal
Go ahead and do it, Lord,
Bring me lower than low
You said a man might gain the world
And lose his own soul,
So go ahead and do it, Lord,
Change my diamonds to coal
I was thinkin’ I had everything,
Thinkin’ I was mighty
But lately I’ve been feelin’
All the ash and dust inside me
And I can’t ignore the Savior King
I can’t avoid the cross
I’ll need the help His Spirit brings
To count my gain as loss
Repeat chorus
I thought my money was my worth,
So my wealth was my devotion
My love for treasures on this earth
Is the chain that must be broken
And I can’t ignore the Savior King,
I can’t just walk away
I desire to be redeemed,
That's why I’m here to say
Go ahead and do it, Lord,
Change my diamonds to coal
It’s gonna take a miracle to turn it all around
Inside out, upside down
If I desire the sky Lord, give me the ground
Dead, I’m alive
Lost, I’m found
Livin’ high; bring me low
Turn diamonds to coal
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