Up in the white veranda, She wears a necktie and a Panama hat. Her passport shows a face From another time an' place She looks nothin' like that. An' all the remnants of her recent past Are scattered in the wild wind. She walks across the marble floor where a voice from the gamblin room Is callin' her to come on in. She smiles, walks the other way As the last ship sails an' the moon fades away From Black Diamond Bay. As the mornin light breaks open The greek comes down an' he asks for a rope an' A pen that will write. "Pardon monsieur'', the desk clerk says Carefully removes his fez "Am i hearin' you right?'' An' as the yellow fog is liftin', the greek is quickly Headin' for the second floor. She passes him on the spiral staircase thinkin' He's the soviet ambassador. She starts to speak but he walks away As the storm clouds rise an' the palm branches sway On Black Diamond Bay. A soldier sits beneath the fan Doin' business with a tiny man Who sells him a ring. Lightnin' strikes, the lights blow out The desk clerk wakes, he begins to shout, "Can you see anything?'' Then the greek appears on the second floor in his bare feet With a rope around his neck While the loser in the gamblin' room lights up a candle Says, "Open up another deck'' But the dealer says, "Attendez! vous, s'il vous plait'' As the rain beats down an' the cranes fly away From Black Diamond bay. The desk clerk heard the woman laugh As he looked around in the aftermath An' the soldier got tough. He tried to grab the woman's hand Said, "Here's a ring it costs a grant'' She said, " 't ain't enough.'' Then she ran upstairs to pack her bags while a horse drawn taxi Waited at the curb She passed the door that the greek had locked where a hand written sign Said, "Do not disturb'' She knocked on it anyway As the sun went down an' the music did play On Black Diamond Bay. "I've got to talk to someone quick'' But the greek said, "Go away'', he kicked The chair to the floor. He hung there from the chandelier She cried, "There's danger near, Please, open up the door.'' Then the vulcano erupted an' the lava flowed down From the moutain high above. The soldier an' the tiny man were crouched in the corner Thinkin' of forbidden love. But the desk clerk said, "It happens everyday'' As the stars fell down an' fields burned away On Black Diamond Bay. As the island slowly sank, The loser finally broke the bank In the gamblin' room. The dealer said, "It's too late now You can take your money but i don't know how You'll spend it in the tomb.'' The tiny man bit the soldier's ear as the floor caved in And the boiler in the basement blew While she's out on the balcony where a stranger tells her, "My darling, je vous aime beaucoup.'' She sheds a tear an' then begins to pray As the fire burns an' the smoke drifts away From Black Diamond Bay. I was sittin' home alone one nite In L.A. watchin' ol' Cronkite On the 7 o'clock news. It seems there was an earthquake that Left nothin' but a Panama hat An' a pair of old greek shoes. Didn't seem like much was happenin' so i turned it off, Went to grab another beer. Seems like everytime you turn around there's another hard luck story That you're gonna hear. An' there's really nothin' anyone can say An' i never did plan to go anyway To Black Diamond Bay.