Music Friday: Chrissie Hynde Sings About Diamonds Sparkling in the Snow

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you spectacular songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. In the 1983 holiday release, “2000 Miles,” rock legend 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 cocaine 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 US Billboard 200 albums chart.

While discussing the song in a 1990 interview with Select magazine, Hynde praised the excellent guitar work of former band member Robbie McIntosh while roasting herself as a vocalist and lyricist, stating, "… McIntosh plays beautifully on '2000 Miles'. Anything to avoid listening to my voice and my stupid words."

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), Train (2015) and Tom Chaplic (2017) have all covered “2000 Miles” for their holiday albums.

Born in Akron, OH, in 1951, Hynde formed The Pretenders in Hereford, England, in 1978. The band has sold more than 130 million albums worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. They have been touring on and off for the past 45 years.

Please check out the live performance video of Hynde and The Pretenders performing “2000 Miles” in 1995. 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

I can hear people singing
It must be Christmastime

I can hear people singing
It must be Christmastime

Credit: Image by Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Choron Group to Unlock Secrets Within Historic 108-Carat Pink Diamond

The historic 108.39-carat pink diamond recovered in March at the renowned Kao mine in the Kingdom of Lesotho is now in Antwerp, where it will be skillfully cut and polished into a series of finished diamonds by the Choron Group.

"Over the coming weeks and months, we will be taking you on a manufacturing journey from our base in Antwerp as we bring this once-in-a-lifetime diamond to life," Choron wrote on its Linkedin page. Founded in 1985, Choron is a leading diamond-industry player with a division that specializes in the manufacturing of exceptional rough diamonds.

Earlier this month, Choron agreed to purchase the Type IIa pink gem from Kao mine operator Storm Mountain Diamonds (SMD) for an undisclosed sum. Type IIa diamonds are chemically pure with no traces of nitrogen or boron impurities.

"It is a privilege for Choron to unlock the secrets within this remarkable pink diamond and we look forward to revealing the story of this historic diamond," said company CEO Anshul Gandhi. "Our artisans will meticulously transform this rough diamond into an array of polished diamonds that will be remembered for generations to come."

It's likely that the 108.39-carat fancy intense pink diamond will be divided into a large hero stone and a series of satellite stones. The anticipated sizes and shapes on the polished stones have yet to be revealed.

Gandhi told Rapaport News that SMD will retain a minority share in the stone, while Choron will manufacture and market it.

Storm Mountain Diamonds, which is jointly owned by Namakwa Diamonds Limited and the Government of Lesotho, noted that its March 2023 find is one of the largest pink diamonds ever to be discovered globally. In fact, the gem is more than twice the carat weight of the Kao mine’s previous record holder: the 47.81-carat “Pink Eternity,” which was discovered in 2022. Other notable pink diamonds from the mine include the “Pink Palesa” (21.68 carat, 2021) and the Rose of Kao (29.59 carats, 2018).

“SMD continues to consistently deliver extraordinary diamonds, and this diamond further cements the Kao mine as the primary producer of pink diamonds globally," noted Robert Cowley, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SMD. "We are thrilled to enter into this agreement with Choron and we look forward to the next chapter of this diamond’s story.”

Pink diamonds are in high demand and short supply since the November 2020 closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine, which had been the world’s primary source of high-quality pink diamonds.

Credits: Images courtesy of Storm Mountain Diamonds.

Spirit of Giving: Another Donor Drops Bridal Jewelry in Salvation Army Kettle

Back in December of 2014, an anonymous woman honored her late husband’s joy of Christmastime gift giving by dropping her engagement ring and wedding band into a Salvation Army Red Kettle outside of Boston’s North Station. Accompanying the three-stone engagement ring and plain gold wedding band was a type-written note.

“I’ve dropped my wedding ring in your Red Kettle knowing that the money from its sale will buy toys for needy children,” she wrote. “In all seasons, my husband was a giver. I especially remember his joy in giving at Christmastime, especially to those in need. To honor his memory, I donate this ring.”

That uplifting story, which earned national headlines, has been spawning copycat acts of generosity ever since.

This past Thursday, at The Salvation Army in Waltham, about 12 miles west of Boston, Lt. Nicole Fullop was inspecting the contents of a Red Kettle at the local Market Basket grocery store when she encountered a curious plastic bag. Inside the bag, wrapped in a dollar bill, was a wedding band and engagement ring, along with a type-written note.

“This ring is being given in love for a second time,” wrote the anonymous donor. “Like the first time, I hope that this ring will bring joy and make a difference.”

According to The Salvation Army, the rings are valued at an estimated $1,500. Once sold, the proceeds will be put directly toward helping families and others in need in the Waltham area this holiday season.

“We are honored and humbled that someone would care enough to give something this precious to The Salvation Army to help others,” said Lt. Fullop. “Donors dropping valuable jewelry and coins with notes into kettles has been happening for years and is often a reminder of how the kettle is a sign of hope.”

In an interview with WBZ News in Boston, Fullop delivered a message to the anonymous donor: "We thank you and we love you. Merry Christmas."

This year, The Salvation Army hopes to raise $2.5 million in Massachusetts through its iconic red kettle campaign. In 2022, the national campaign generated more than $102 million.

Every year, The Salvation Army serves more than 24 million people across America. They provide more than 55 million meals for the hungry, more than 10 million nights of shelter for the homeless, and countless Christmas gifts for children who may otherwise go without.

The Salvation Army Red Kettle Program can track its origins to 1891, when Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee struggled with the reality that so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. His only hurdle was a tall one — funding the project.

According to The Salvation Army’s official website, McFee’s red kettle idea was inspired by his days as a sailor in Liverpool, England. There, he remembered an iron kettle called “Simpson’s Pot” into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day, McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, “Keep the Pot Boiling.” He soon had the money to see that the needy people of the area were properly fed at Christmas.

Credits: Images courtesy of The Salvation Army.