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Quiz about Black Diamond Bay
Quiz about Black Diamond Bay

Black Diamond Bay Trivia Quiz


One of my favorite songs on Bob Dylan's album "Desire" is "Black Diamond Bay" about a number of people staying at a hotel at a vacation spot which is eventually consumed by the devastating force of a nearby volcano. Here are 15 questions about the song,

A multiple-choice quiz by OofahLandian. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
OofahLandian
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
329,595
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
11 / 15
Plays
176
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Question 1 of 15
1. What two items of clothing are we told the woman wears? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. The woman mistakes the Greek for someone she seems to know. Who does she think he is? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. Where did the soldier get the ring he offers to the woman? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. Which character is wearing a fez? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. What does the Greek request from the desk clerk? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. What is the English translation of what the dealer tells the loser to please do after the black out? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. Who "heard the woman laugh as he looked around in the aftermath" of the black out? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. Who commits suicide before the volcano erupts? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. What does the desk clerk say when the volcano erupts? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. Who bites the soldier's ear? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. Who breaks the bank in the gambling room? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. The woman meets her end on "the balcony" in whose company? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. According to the song, what are the only things left after the disaster? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. In what city does the narrator hear about the tragedy at Black Diamond Bay? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. What did the narrator think after watching the news story? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What two items of clothing are we told the woman wears?

Answer: A Panama hat and a necktie

This is from the first verse in the song: "Up on the white veranda, she wears a necktie and a Panama hat."

There is a Canadian band formed in 2006 named "Black Diamond Bay", presumably based on this song.
2. The woman mistakes the Greek for someone she seems to know. Who does she think he is?

Answer: The Ambassador to the Soviet Union

From the second verse:

And as the yellow fog is lifting
The Greek is quickly heading for the second floor
She passes him on the spiral staircase
Thinking he's the Soviet Ambassador
She starts to speak, but he walks away

Like many of the songs on "Desire", "Black Diamond Bay" was co-written with Jacques Levy.
3. Where did the soldier get the ring he offers to the woman?

Answer: He purchased it from the tiny man

He purchases it from the tiny man in the third verse:

A soldier sits beneath the fan
Doing business with a tiny man who sells him a ring

We learn later that he purchased it for "a grand".
4. Which character is wearing a fez?

Answer: The desk clerk

The desk clerk "carefully removes his fez" when the Greek makes an unusual request to him.

"Black Diamond Bay" is very loosely based off of characters and geography from the Joseph Conrad Novel "Victory".
5. What does the Greek request from the desk clerk?

Answer: A rope

From the song:

As the morning light breaks open, the Greek comes down
And he asks for a rope and a pen that will write

"Black Diamond Bay" is one of three songs that exceed eight minutes on the album "Desire", the others being "Hurricane" and "Joey".
6. What is the English translation of what the dealer tells the loser to please do after the black out?

Answer: Wait

After the lights go out on Black Diamond Bay, the Loser lights a candle and tells the Dealer to open another deck. His response is, "Attendez-vous, s'il vous plait", which means "Wait, please."
7. Who "heard the woman laugh as he looked around in the aftermath" of the black out?

Answer: The desk clerk

The forth verse begins:

The desk clerk heard the woman laugh
As he looked around the aftermath and the soldier got tough.

"Desire" was Bob Dylan's 17th studio album.
8. Who commits suicide before the volcano erupts?

Answer: The Greek

From the third verse:

Then the Greek appears on the second floor
In his bare feet with a rope around his neck

And the fifth when the woman is calling to the Greek from outside his door:

"I`ve got to talk to someone quick!"
But the Greek said, "Go away," and he kicked the chair to the floor.
He hung there from the chandelier.
She cried, "Help, there`s danger near!"
9. What does the desk clerk say when the volcano erupts?

Answer: "It happens every day"

From the fifth verse:

The desk clerk says, "It happens every day"
As the stars fell down and the fields burned away
On Black Diamond Bay.

"Desire" spent five weeks atop Billboard's Pop Album Chart and was eventually certified double-platinum.
10. Who bites the soldier's ear?

Answer: The tiny man

The fifth verse found the Tiny Man and the Soldier "crouched in a corner, thinking of forbidden love".

As time runs out on the island, the Tiny Man acts on his impulse, just before the "floor caved in and the boiler in the basement blew".

In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine named "Desire" #174 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
11. Who breaks the bank in the gambling room?

Answer: The loser

Another great irony in this song:

As the island slowly sank
The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling 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."

"Desire" was released between the two legs of Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour, which is covered well on the double CD, "Bootleg Series Volume 5."
12. The woman meets her end on "the balcony" in whose company?

Answer: A stranger

From the sixth verse:

While she's out on the balcony, where a stranger tells her,
"My darling, je vous aime beaucoup"
She sheds a tear and then begins to pray
As the fire burns on and the smoke drifts away
From Black Diamond Bay

The stranger tells her that he loves her before their demise.
13. According to the song, what are the only things left after the disaster?

Answer: A hat and a pair of shoes

From the last verse:

It seems there was an earthquake that
Left nothin' but a Panama hat
And a pair of old Greek shoes

The Panama hat was worn by the woman. We don't hear much about the shoes before this line, but we know the Greek was barefoot when he hanged himself.
14. In what city does the narrator hear about the tragedy at Black Diamond Bay?

Answer: Los Angeles

From the final verse:

I was sittin' home alone one night in L.A.,
Watchin' old Cronkite on the seven o'clock news.

Walter Cronkite was the anchor of the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981.
15. What did the narrator think after watching the news story?

Answer: It didn't seem like much was happening

The ultimate bitter irony of the song comes after the narrator watches Walter Cronkite tell the story:

Didn't seem like much was happenin',
So I turned it off and went to grab another beer.
Seems like every time you turn around
There's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear
And there's really nothin' anyone can say
And I never did plan to go anyway
To Black Diamond Bay.
Source: Author OofahLandian

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
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