Neil Diamond is Giving Back

Published by The Editor at June 30, 2013

Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond is a legend in the music business as both a performer and writer. He’s sold over 125 million records world wide and has written ten number one hit singles, and a long list of hits. Some of his most popular songs include “Cracklin Rosie”, “America”, “Forever in Blue Jeans”, “I’m a Believer” and of course, “Sweet Caroline.” He’s a member of both the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Neil stopped in to talk with Ron Bennington about his new single, “Freedom Song” which he wrote to benefit the first responders of Boston after the Boston Marathon Bombings. Excerpts from the interview appear below.

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Ron Bennington: That is Neil Diamond. “Freedom Song: They’ll Never Take Us Down” is going to be released Tuesday, July 2nd. 100% of the proceeds go to One Fund Boston and the Wounded Warrior Project. What an amazing thing for you to be able to do this. Particularly, the way the people in Boston feel about you.

Neil Diamond: Well…I would like to say it was a pleasure, but it was a very difficult experience for me. But I felt it was necessary. As a songwriter, this kind of justifies being a songwriter and calling myself a writer too. To sit down and try to write something that expressed my love for this country and my appreciation for the spirit of the people in this country and that’s what this song is about.

Ron Bennington: Well, your songs – and we went over some of your songs before we brought you in. You’ve written some of the most iconic songs in popular music, but most of the time, people try to figure out exactly what each lyric means because so many of these are personal. But this is one – it feels more like you’re writing from the people’s point of view.

Neil Diamond: Yes, absolutely. It’s from the people’s point of view. And it’s from my point of view as a fellow citizen and a fellow lover of this country and appreciator for what this country has really to offer.

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Neil Diamond Talks About Songs Taking a Life of Their Own

Ron Bennington: The folks in Boston having such an iconic view of that song of yours and it was an amazing thing after that happened, to see all the other ballparks – here in New York City where they’re saluting the Boston fans and the Boston Red Sox by singing “Sweet Caroline”. It was a really touching thing. But what always amazes me is, of course, none of that is in your mind when you’re writing the song. A song just goes off and becomes something.

Neil Diamond: That’s so true. You never do know and it’s one of the complaints that I have and it’s one of the great gifts that you’re given. You sit down and you write something – spend a lot of time on it or it comes immediately as “Sweet Caroline” did. You never know where it’s going to end up. You never know who’s going to end up singing it and for what reason and for what purpose, what goes on when the song is playing and it becomes part of people’s lives. And that’s the great thrill as a writer – that you may just eventually end up in somebody’s life and maybe even making a difference.

Ron Bennington: A few years ago, I saw all these little kids dancing and singing “I’m a Believer”. And I’m like – how do these little kids know? Because I hadn’t seen the movie. And I’m like – all these little kids know this song from the ’60s and it’s another one of those examples.

Neil Diamond: That’s right. It’s almost…well, it is unpredictable, for sure. But it is also wonderful for me to see. Because it’s lonely in the studio, I’ve got to tell you. You’re there alone and you don’t really know if anybody’s going to ever hear the song. And in a lot of situations, that happens. You work on a song and it’s never heard of again. So, you don’t know. So, you give it every thing you have, you just hope for the best and who knows? Maybe 30, 40 years later, it will end up being sung by a group of kids on the corner. Or heard at a ball game. And maybe you’ll be singing it. It’s such an amazing haphazard happenstance, I think the word is.

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Neil Diamond Talks About Writing “Freedom Song”

Ron Bennington: Well, when you sit down and write a song like this, “Freedom Song: They’ll Never Take Us Down” – you know that you’re doing this for a specific purpose.

Neil Diamond: That’s right.

Ron Bennington: Is that more pressure as a writer? Is that…suddenly you’re thinking to yourself – I better go over this a little more?

Neil Diamond: Well, there is a little more pressure because I wanted it to really say some things that I wanted to say and maybe hadn’t been said before. And that’s hard to do because a lot of things have been said about this country and people’s relationship to it – going back to the “Star-Spangled Banner”. So, it’s hard to come up with something you want to say that will ring a bell with somebody out there. I honestly didn’t know what this song would be about when I first started writing it. I just knew that I was inspired in a way to write something to thank those people in Boston and to those people around the country that I have performed to – and have shown a certain spirit and certain resilience which is an inspiring thing. And for a songwriter, a little inspiration like that, goes a long way. And that fueled me through this entire song. I didn’t know what the song was about until it was half finished. And then it started to become apparent to me that this song is about America and its strength and the things that I love about it and that became clearer. And yes, there was some pressure, but also there was a considerable amount of joy and enthusiasm that went into the writing of this thing.

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Neil Diamond Talks About Performing “Sweet Caroline” at Fenway

Ron Bennington: Yeah. You went up to Boston and checked in on those folks after that happened. This was a spur of the moment thing for you?

Neil Diamond: Yes.

Ron Bennington: You just left and said – I’m going to go up and see how things are going?

Neil Diamond: Well I, like a lot of other Americans, followed that whole story of the bombing for that week – and finding these 2 people responsible and eventually capturing the one that survived. It was a very tense and scary kind of a journey for everybody to make, along with the people in Boston. They were not alone. They had a lot of people following this thing. And when it was over – they finally captured this second person, I said to my wife – honey, we’ve got to go into Boston and I’ve got to sing “Sweet Caroline” just to cheer people up. And we jumped on a plane, took a red eye. We were there in time for the game. It was an afternoon game. We had to talk our way into Fenway Park.

Ron Bennington: It’s an amazing story. This is amazing.

Neil Diamond: We did. They didn’t expect us. They didn’t know we were coming. My wife called and said – I have Neil Diamond here. He wants to sing “Sweet Caroline”. (laughs) Believe it or not, they believed her. And so, it went up the chain and finally somebody who we knew with the Boston Red Sox organization said – what?? He’s here? We want him. We’ll be there at the gate, just get in a cab and come on over. We hopped in a cab and got over to Fenway. They took us in. We had a couple of hot dogs. I was honored to say hi to some of the first responders there. And these people just…they were so humble and so strong. It was inspirational just to meet them and to thank them for what they had done. And then it was my turn. You’re on Neil. Go! Go sing your song. And it was a joyful day for me.

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Neil Diamond Talks About the Wounded Warriors Project

Ron Bennington: One of the great things about this song, is 100% of the proceeds go to One Fund Boston and the Wounded Warrior Project. Again, here’s something we take for granted, ten years into this stuff. But these guys are out there every single day. Doing it.

Neil Diamond: So true.

Ron Bennington: And it should be something that we’re all involved in all the time.

Neil Diamond: Well, they need our support. I went to see some of the wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Hospital earlier in the year. And these kids were amazing. They were inspiring. Their families…the sacrifices that these guys have gone through. Deeply, physically wounded and yet, their eyes were straight ahead, clear on the prize. The families were strong and ready to stand by their man. And it was an amazing insight to me and to human strength. The real strength in this country anyway. And yeah, I gave out a bunch of guitars to the guys. I had them sent. Because it turned out that most of these guys played guitar. So, I have a little guitar that I carry around and we sent them each a guitar with a note of thanks for the sacrifices that they have made. This is something that I wanted this song and that I want “Freedom Song” to be able to bring out in people to remind them that we’re free because these men and women have made sacrifices of their lifetime. They will pay for the rest of their lives for what they did. They put their bodies and their hearts and their minds in danger and they paid the price, all of them. And we owe it to them, at least to recognize that and not to forget it. They need our help now. They can’t do this alone. The families are strong. The soldiers are strong, but they need us too. And I want this song to remind us that we are needed now. This country is needed now to stand behind the people that made these sacrifices. And yes, it will raise money. When people go out and download this song, the $1.29 that they donate, 100% of it will go to these heroes. And I just hope everybody steps up now. It’s time for America to step up and support these people.

Ron Bennington: It’s “Freedom Song: They’ll Never Take Us Down”. You are going to be performing at “A Capitol Fourth” on PBS, July 4th, 8:00 – that’s always a big special night. Doing this song, is the first time you’ve ever done in public, I guess, right?

Neil Diamond: I will do it earlier that day at a Nationals – Brewers baseball game in Washington DC – in which the Wounded Warriors are honored. And then, I will do it again that night on the Great Lawn in front of the Capitol in Washington. And it will be my privilege and my pleasure to sing out on their behalf.

Ron Bennington: I think it’s fantastic. “Freedom Song” – this is a great thing to buy friends, send it out to them. This could be a terrific 4th of July thing that you’re sending people this because all the money is going to One Fund Boston and Wounded Warrior Project. That’s Tuesday, July 2nd.

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Purchase Freedom Song (They’ll Never Take Us Down) on July 2 on Amazon.com and visit NeilDiamond.com for more information.