Music Friday: In '2000 Miles,' The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde Sings About Diamonds Sparkling in the Snow

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. In the 1983 holiday release, "2000 Miles," Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders paints a picture of a diamond-embellished winter scene while lamenting the fact that she's far away from the one she loves at Christmastime.

She sings, "In these frozen and silent nights / Sometimes in a dream... you appear / Outside under the purple sky / Diamonds in the snow... sparkle / Our hearts were singing / It felt like Christmastime.

While many people see "2000 Miles" as a sweet Christmas song about a young woman yearning to be closer to her lover during the holidays, the tune is actually Hynde's tribute to guitarist and founding band member James Honeyman-Scott, who died of a drug overdose in 1982 at the age of 25.

"2000 Miles" was released as a single in December of 1983 and appeared as the 10th track of The Pretenders' Learning to Crawl album. The single was popular in the UK, where it peaked at #15 on the UK Singles Chart. Learning to Crawl earned the #5 spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart.

In 2014, while finishing up her album Stockholm, Hynde collaborated with Swede Bjorn Yttling on an updated version of "2000 Miles. It was released as a Christmas single in the UK that December.

She told Classic Rock Magazine, "I think it captures the mood of the season perfectly as it gets cold in Sweden, reindeer wander the streets freely and the snow was coming down! Happy Christmas!"

Coldplay (2003), The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (2010), Natalie Imbruglia (2010), Mark Kozelek (2014), Kylie Minogue (2015) and Tom Chaplic (2017) have all covered "2000 Miles" for their holiday albums.

Born in Akron, Ohio, in 1951, Hynde formed The Pretenders in Hereford, England, in 1978. The band has performed on and off for the past 39 years, with Hynde embarking on a solo career in 2014. Reunited once again, the band has been touring since 2016. The Pretenders were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Please check out the video of Hynde and The Pretenders performing "2000 Miles" live in Sydney, Australia, in 2010. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"2000 Miles"
Written by Christine Hynde. Performed by The Pretenders.

He's gone 2000 miles
It's very far
The snow is falling down
Gets colder day by day
I miss you

The children will sing
He'll be back at Christmastime

In these frozen and silent nights
Sometimes in a dream... you appear
Outside under the purple sky
Diamonds in the snow... sparkle

Our hearts were singing
It felt like Christmastime

2000 miles
Is very far through the snow
I'll think of you
Wherever you go

He's gone 2000 miles
It's very far
The snow is falling down
Gets colder day by day
I miss you

Our hearts were singing
It felt like Christmastime
I can hear people singing
It must be Christmastime

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Blackened Wedding Ring Pulled From the Ashes Inspires Wildfire Survivor to Propose All Over Again

A blackened wedding ring recovered from the ashes of their lost home symbolizes a new beginning for Southern California wildfire survivors Julie and Don Myers.

The Ventura County couple was forced to flee their home when the fast-moving, wind-whipped fires tore through their neighborhood.

When fire officials allowed them to return to their property, Julie and Don found their home and all their possessions reduced to a smoldering heap of ash and rubble.

The couple did maintain one glimmer of hope, however. Somewhere in the rubble was a fire safe that contained a few important possessions, including Julie's original wedding ring. Don had given her a new ring to commemorate their 25th anniversary and the original ring had been put away for safekeeping.

After sifting through the ashes with the assistance of local firefighters, Don was able to find the safe. Everything in the safe was "unrecognizable," according to Julie, except for her slightly charred ring.

"It was truly amazing that he found it, I thought we had lost it forever," Julie told GoodHousekeeping.com.

In a spontaneous expression of his love, Don got down on one knee and used the original ring to propose to Julie all over again.

The ring represents a fresh start for the couple — a symbol of their resilience and a brighter future.

How the ring survived in the fire safe has a lot to do with the temperature of the wildfire blaze and the performance of the safe. Although the blaze was likely as hot as 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit, an average fire safe can protect its contents up to a temperature of 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit.

Even without the safe, the gold and diamond ring may have survived because the melting point of the precious metal is about 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit and the ignition temperature of a diamond is about 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit. (Yes, diamonds can burn.)

The Thomas Fire that destroyed the Myers' home is one of six fires that have consumed 1,000 structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The footprint of the fires is larger than the cities of New York and Boston combined, reported CNN.

Credits: Images by Julie Myers.

'Ultra Violet' Is Pantone's 2018 Color of the Year and We're Excited by the Possibilities

"Ultra Violet" is Pantone's 2018 Color of the Year and we're excited by the possibilities. While Pantone says the vibrant color communicates originality, ingenuity and visionary thinking, we see the Color Institute's pick as a great reason to shine the spotlight on some of our favorite gemstones, including amethyst, tanzanite, iolite, spinel and violet sapphire.

We're expecting jewelry designers to pepper their 2018 lines with ultraviolet accessories to complement the arrival of ultraviolet fashions.

A fabulous representation of "Ultra Violet" is seen in the "Tiffany Amethyst Necklace," a piece that June Rosner and Russell Bilgore donated to the Smithsonian in 2007. The 56-carat square cushion-cut amethyst is set in an 18-karat yellow gold necklace designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, circa 1915.

Each year since 2000, the color experts at Pantone have picked a color that reflects the current cultural climate. Typically, Pantone’s selection influences the worlds of high fashion, beauty, housewares, home and industrial design and consumer packaging.

Pantone calls Ultra Violet a dramatically provocative and thoughtful shade of purple, suggesting the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead and the discoveries beyond where we are now. Pantone says Ultra Violet is nuanced and full of emotion. It's a color that symbolizes experimentation and non-conformity, spurring individuals to imagine their unique mark on the world and push boundaries through creative outlets.

Among the musical icons who used shades of ultraviolet to express their individuality were Prince, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix, noted Pantone.

Ultra Violet also has a calmer, spiritual side. For example, purple-tone lighting has been used in meditation spaces because the color is said to have the ability to inspire connections. Ultraviolet is also said to offer a higher ground to those seeking refuge from today's overstimulated world.

“The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design," said Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute. "It’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.”

The process of choosing the annual color takes about nine months, with Pantone’s trend watchers scanning the globe’s fashion runways and high-profile events for “proof points” until one color emerges as the clear winner.

A year ago, Pantone's Color of the Year was "Greenery," a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring.

In 2016, Pantone blended two shades — Rose Quartz and Serenity Blue — to create its 2016 Color of the Year. Together, the mineral pink and tranquil blue combined to communicate a sense of wellness and peacefulness, with a dash of gender equality.

Here are the most recent Pantone Colors of the Year…

PANTONE 15-0343 Greenery (2017)
PANTONE 13-1520 Rose Quartz (2016)
PANTONE 15-3919 Serenity (2016)
PANTONE 18-1438 Marsala (2015)
PANTONE 18-3224 Radiant Orchid (2014)
PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald (2013)
PANTONE 17-1463 Tangerine Tango (2012)
PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle (2011)
PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise (2010)

Credits: Color of the Year images courtesy of Pantone. Tiffany Amethyst Necklace image by Chip Clark/Smithsonian.