song 2

Shifting from a girl who has everything, to a girl that depends on human contact to stay “shining” on the inside, Ben Harper, in Diamonds on the Inside, utilizes penetrating metaphors, materialistic hyperboles, and connecting objectification between himself, the girl, and society to events present, meanwhile illuminating that to be happy, you do not necessarily have to be with someone else, happiness comes from the inside.

          Ben Harper uses penetrating metaphors to compare the similarities between, how the girl in this song is making a “bed of nails and she’s plannin’ on puttin’ it to use”, and how she isn’t able to just be by herself, she needs to be with someone to make herself happy, but in the same sense she creates her own struggles by not giving her significant other all she has to offer.  This also shows how the only way to be a part of this society is you need to become a “nail” and shut yourself off from being hurt from personal relationships with other people.  She also shows that she is a very loving person but is always craving to be loved the same way she loves, “she couldn’t spend a day alone, but she couldn’t be satisfied.”

          Through the use of materialistic hyperboles, Ben Harper is able to show that this girl is not just materialistic but also craves the affection of others over all else, “When you have everything, you have everything to lose.”  Harper also utilizes hyperboles to show that she is beautiful; “diamonds on the inside” objectifying that she is magnificent as a person and if you are willing to dig, you will find something rewarding.  Reasserting Harper’s case of showing how good of a person this girl is, he begins his song with “I know a girl, her name is truth. She was a horrible liar” proving beyond a doubt that she is someone worth trying for.

          In the song, Ben Harper uses connecting objectification to intertwine unrelated and unsaid ideas to there counterparts in the coded lyrics. “A candle throws its light into the darkness,” meaning that even the smallest good deed can illuminate the area around it, bring happiness, or light to those affected.  Contradictory to a positive light is “like the soldier long standing under fire, any change comes as a relief” showing that if she is able to persevere through the bad times, change will come and she will appreciate it when it does.

Ben Harper, in Diamonds on the Inside, utilizes penetrating metaphors, materialistic hyperboles, and connecting objectification between himself, the girl, and society to events present, illuminating that happiness comes from the inside.  Just like the girl in the song, “let the giver’s name remain unspoken, she is a generous thief,” Ben Harper gives the listener a lesson in humility, happiness, and selflessness.