Music Friday: Tomorrow Brings a Diamond Ring in Traveling Wilburys' 'End of the Line'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you classic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today we feature 1989’s “End of the Line” by the Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup composed of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.

The hopeful, upbeat song about how everything will be all right in the end includes a key jewelry reference in the verse sung by Petty: "You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring / Waiting for someone to tell you everything / Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring / Maybe a diamond ring."

Characterized by its driving, riding-on-the-rails rhythm, “End of the Line” features all of the Wilburys (except for Dylan) on lead vocals. Harrison, Lynne and Orbison take turns singing the chorus, while Petty sings the verses.

Each legendary artist delivers a tidbit of sagely advice — from doing the best you can and always lending a hand, to remembering to live and let live and doing your best to forgive.

The official music video for “End of the Line” was shot in December 1988, just weeks after the death of Orbison. The Wilburys are having a jam session in what seems to be a vintage rail car, with Orbison represented by a guitar sitting in a rocking chair.

The song appeared as the final track on the group's debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, which sold more than 4 million copies and charted in 12 countries, including a #3 position on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and the #1 spot on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums chart. The album also earned a 1990 Grammy award for "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal."

Of the original Wilburys, only the 72-year old Lynne and the 79-year-old Dylan are still alive. Orbison passed away in 1988 at the age of 52, Harrison died in 2001 at the age of 58 and Petty passed in 2017 at the age of 66.

The supergroup’s unusual name is credited to Harrison, who used “wilbury” as a slang term to describe recording errors caused by faulty equipment. Harrison had recommended “The Trembling Wilburys” as the group’s name, but Lynne came up with “Traveling Wilburys,” and the rest is history.

We hope you enjoy the official video for “End of the Line.” It has been viewed on YouTube more than 54 million times and the lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along...

“End of the Line”
Written by Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Performed by the Traveling Wilburys.

Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, doing the best you can
Well it’s all right, as long as you lend a hand

You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring
Waiting for someone to tell you everything
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring
Maybe a diamond ring

Well it’s all right, even if they say you’re wrong
Well it’s all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it’s all right, As long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it’s all right, everyday is Judgement Day

Maybe somewhere down the road aways
You’ll think of me, and wonder where I am these days
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays
Purple haze

Well it’s all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it’s all right, if you got someone to love
Well it’s all right, everything’ll work out fine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line

Don’t have to be ashamed of the car I drive
I’m just glad to be here, happy to be alive
It don’t matter if you’re by my side
I’m satisfied

Well it’s all right, even if you’re old and grey
Well it’s all right, you still got something to say
Well it’s all right, remember to live and let live
Well it’s all right, the best you can do is forgive

Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, even if the sun don’t shine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line

Credits: Screen capture via YouTube.com. Fender Stratocaster photo by Andrew King / CC BY-SA.

Alrosa Unveils Massive 236-Carat Fancy Intense Yellow-Brown Diamond

Russian mining giant Alrosa recently unearthed a massive 236-carat fancy intense yellow-brown diamond at its Ebelyakh mine in Yakutia. It's the largest natural color rough diamond ever found in Russia.

The beautiful specimen, which seems to display a surreal inner glow, measures 47mm x 24mm x 22mm (slightly wider than a golf ball). Its "fancy intense" color is one grade below the highest classification of "fancy vivid."

The stone is currently being evaluated by specialists at Alrosa’s United Selling Organization.

"After that, we will decide whether to give it to our manufacturers for cutting or sell it as a rough," said Pavel Vinikhin, the head of diamonds for Alrosa's cutting and polishing division. "Of course, cutters in any country will be interested in such a [specimen], as it has the potential to [yield] several high-quality polished diamonds.”

The Ebelyakh alluvial diamond deposit is located on the Anabar River, which runs through the Central Siberian Plateau. The remote area is 3,800 km northeast of Moscow, near the Arctic Ocean.

The mine was previously in the news for yielding a number of high-profile fancy color diamonds. In the summer of 2017, Alrosa mined three unique fancy color diamonds within a single month: a yellow, pink and purple-pink. All three stones were cut by the Diamonds of Alrosa division and presented as polished diamonds to the public.

At the end of 2019, a polished 20.69-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond called Firebird was sold by Alrosa to luxury jeweler Graff Diamonds.

Already the world’s leading diamond producer in terms of sheer output, Alrosa is looking to become a bigger player in a segment of the industry that had been dominated by Rio Tinto and Anglo American’s De Beers — gem-quality colored diamonds.

Alrosa’s push is coming at a time when Rio Tinto’s Argyle Mine in Western Australia — the world’s primary source for pink, red and blue diamonds — is just about tapped out. The mine is scheduled to close at the end of 2020.

Credits: Images courtesy of Alrosa.

Metal Detectorist Reunites LI Man With Locket Containing His Brother's Ashes

A young Long Island man got the best birthday gift he could have ever asked for when a thumbprint locket containing his brother's ashes was returned to him by a Good Samaritan with a metal detector. 

Fiction writer and avid metal detectorist Danny McAleese discovered the precious keepsake at Smith Point County Park beach in New York's Suffolk County this past Wednesday.

The father of four said he's had a metal detector for a long time. He's found gold items and silver items, but this recent discovery was the most unusual.

"I was sweeping the beach for about two hours and I was just about to quit and I got a really nice hit," he said. "It was 8 or 10 inches down. Right where the water meets the sand. It popped out, this thumbprint. It looked really strange to me."

The oval locket measured 1 1/2 inches tall and was inscribed with this message: "Joseph I will carry you with me until I see you again."

McAleese thought the inscription might be a prayer, but his wife, Aurelia, correctly identified it as a deeply personal sentiment. The locket was a cremation pendant.

Aurelia told her husband, "We have to find who owns this."

McAleese and his wife posted pics of the thumbprint pendant to Facebook, where is was quickly shared by more than 1,000 users.

Within a few hours, the message had made its was to Hershey Park, Pa., where Dylan Miller was celebrating his birthday with his family.

Miller posted his response: "Wow today's my birthday and that's my necklace with my brother's ashes that I lost last week -- thank you so much I didn't think anyone would ever find that."

Dylan's old brother and role model, Joseph, had passed away two years ago. The younger Miller lost the pendant while tossing a football around at the beach.

"For three hours I was basically crawling on the sand, moving my hands around trying to find it," Miller told News12.

With Miller still in Hershey, Pa., a News12 reporter was able set up a video conference to connect the young man with the husband-and-wife team responsible for finding the cherished pendant and locating him on social media.

"Thank you so much. I can't put into words how grateful I am that you found it," Miller said.

"I can't put into words how happy I am that you're going to get your brother back. That's awesome," Danny McAleese responded.

"Thanks. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift," the young man said.

Credits: Screen captures via longisland.new12.com