She Is a Diamond Lyrics – Evita

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

I hear this one as a hush in a noisy play. The officers bristle, Che cracks the news open, and Perón answers without fireworks. The melody sits low and steady, like someone choosing his words carefully in a hostile room. No grandstanding - just a case for Eva’s place in the country’s imagination.

Highlights

• Counter-chorus dramaturgy: officers sneer, Che reports, Perón reframes - three angles inside one scene.
• Orchestral restraint: soft pulse, low brass, strings that breathe rather than blaze, keeping the focus on argument over aria.
• Character reveal: Perón’s line “she’s all they have” lands like a thesis, honest and tactical at once.

Creation History

On the 1979 Broadway album, the number sits between “Waltz for Eva and Che” and “Dice Are Rolling,” giving Perón a clear-eyed statement before the endgame. It first appeared on the stage recordings that followed the 1976 concept album and remains a signature moment for the role.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Officers grumble that Eva has outgrown decorum. Che, half-narrator and half-prosecutor, lists the country’s bruises. Perón replies: Eva isn’t decoration, she’s ballast and spark. He credits her with tangible wins and admits the fade in her energy. The scene ends with a sting - the officers twist his praise into a taunt: she’s kept you where you are.

Song Meaning

The piece weighs optics against outcomes. It argues that charisma can stabilize a government when policy alone cannot, then undercuts that claim by pointing to scarcity, censorship, and fatigue. The mood moves from brittle to tender to wary.

Annotations

“But on the other hand, she’s all they have - she’s a diamond in their dull grey lives.”

Perón’s tone matters. He isn’t crowing; he’s pleading for empathy. The line invites us to see Eva as a conduit, not an ornament.

“And that’s the hardest kind of stone - it usually survives.”

That “usually” tells the truth the scene can’t hide. Eva’s body is failing. The metaphor strains, and that strain is the pathos.

“But on the other hand, she’s slowing down - she’s lost a little of that magic drive.”

Reality breaking through the spin. The lyric gives Perón one of his most human moments - worried husband, not just strategist.

“She’s the one who’s kept us where we are.”

Double-edged. Perón means continuity; Che’s earlier speech suggests stagnation. Same facts, different math.

“She’s the one who’s kept you where you are.”

The officers’ parting shot reframes credit as accusation. It points to the dependency at the core of the Peronist project.

Rhythm and instrumentation

The score favors soft attack and gradual lift - a slow, controlled swell where brass and strings shade Perón’s lines rather than fight them. It reads like a persuasive memo set to music.

Historical touchpoints

Che’s spoken inventory cites beef rationing and press suppression, tapping the wider critique threaded through Act II. Perón counters with sovereignty claims and economic gestures - the tug-of-war the show wants you to sit inside.

Key Facts

• Artist: Original Broadway Cast of Evita feat. Bob Gunton, Mandy Patinkin
• Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Lyricist: Tim Rice
• Producers: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice
• Album: Evita (Original Cast Recording)
• Release Date: 1979
• Label: MCA Records
• Length: 3:09
• Genre: Musical theatre with pop inflection
• Instruments: orchestra with low brass, strings, guitar, keyboards, light percussion
• Language: English
• Mood: reflective, defensive, strategic
• Track #: 19 on the Broadway album
• Music style: restrained lyric over steady ostinato

Questions and Answers

Who produced “She Is a Diamond” on the Broadway cast album?

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

When was it released by the Broadway cast?

1979, on the Original Cast Recording.

Who wrote it?

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice.

Who leads the vocal on the Broadway track?

Juan Perón - sung by Bob Gunton, with Che’s spoken interjection by Mandy Patinkin.

Is there a notable screen version?

Yes. Jonathan Pryce performs it as Perón on the 1996 film soundtrack.

Awards and Chart Positions

• Tony Awards context: The original Broadway production won seven Tony Awards in 1980 including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book, Best Actress (Patti LuPone), Best Featured Actor (Mandy Patinkin), Best Direction (Harold Prince) and Best Lighting Design (David Hersey).
• Grammy: The Broadway cast album won the 1981 Grammy for Best Cast Show Album (now Best Musical Theater Album).

How to Sing She Is a Diamond

• Voice type & range: Written for a baritone Perón - sit in the middle, avoid forcing the top. Che’s bit is spoken.
• Tempo & arc: Marked with a slow feel and a gradual accel-cresc. Let the build happen by breath and line, not volume alone.
• Diction: Consonants on the officers’ lines should bite; Perón’s text needs warmth and clarity, not bark.
• Support: Long sentences ride one thought each. Plan quiet breaths at commas so phrases don’t chop.
• Blend with pit: Low brass and strings color the argument. Keep placement forward so the tone sits above that cushion.

Additional Info

Other recordings: Jonathan Pryce’s version appears on the 1996 film soundtrack; later stage albums - the 2006 London and 2012 New Broadway cast recordings - also include the number, reflecting its durable place near “Dice Are Rolling.”

On billing: In song lists it is credited simply as “She is a Diamond” and is assigned to Perón.