Diplomat’s Son

Music by Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson and Chris Baio / Lyrics by Ezra Koenig and Rostam Batmanglij / Produced by Rostam Batmanglij

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Lyrics

It’s not right but it’s now or never
And if I wait could I ever forgive myself?

On a night when the moon glows yellow in the riptide
With the light from the TV’s buzzing in the house

Cuz I’m gonna cut it where I can
And then I’m gonna duck out behind them
If I ever had a chance it’s now then
But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you

To offer it to you would be cruel
When all I want to do is use, use you

He was a diplomat’s son
It was ’81

Dressed in white with my car keys hidden in the kitchen
I could sleep wherever I lay my head

And the sight of your two shoes sitting in the bathtub
Let me know that I shouldn’t give up just yet

Cuz I’m gonna take it from Simon
And then I’m gonna duck out behind them
If I ever had a chance it’s now then
But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you

To offer it to you would be cruel
When all I want to do is use, use you

He was a diplomat’s son
It was ’81

        I know, you’ll say
        I’m not doing it right
        But this is how I want it

        I can’t go back
        To how I felt before
        There’s—

That night I smoked a joint
With my best friend
We found ourselves in bed
When I woke up
He was gone

He was the diplomat’s son
It was ’81

Looking out at the ice-cold water all around me
I can’t feel any traces of that other place

In the dark when the wind comes racing off the river
There’s a car all black with diplomatic plates

Official Audio

Versions

diplomat’sson played 67x

diplomatsson played 89x

diplomats played 9x

diplomat’s played 10x

diplomatsjessica played 4x

diplomat’ssonjessica played 2x

diplomat’sjessica played 1x

diplomatssonjessica played 1x

29 live recordings

Jan

9

2020

Enmore Theatre

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Nov

18

2019

Ancienne Belgique

Brussels, Belgium

Nov

13

2019

Alexandra Palace

London, England, UK

Nov

8

2019

Victoria Warehouse

Manchester, England, UK

Oct

21

2019

Teatro Metropolitan

Mexico City, Mexico

Oct

8

2019

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Morrison, Colorado, USA

Oct

1

2019

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

San Francisco, California, USA

Sep

28

2019

McMenamins Edgefield

Portland, Oregon, USA

Sep

25

2019

Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Sep

6

2019

Madison Square Garden

New York, New York, USA

Sep

3

2019

Agganis Arena

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Aug

29

2019

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Columbia, Maryland, USA

Aug

24

2019

James L. Knight Center

Miami, Florida, USA

Jun

21

2019

Red Hat Amphitheater

Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Jun

16

2019

Huntingon Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Jun

11

2019

The Sylvee

Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Jun

7

2019

Lawn at White River State Park

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

May

5

2019

Webster Hall

New York, New York, USA

May

2

2019

Ulster Performing Arts Center

Kingston, New York, USA

Mar

22

2019

Islington Assembly Hall

London, England, UK

Jun

8

2014

Governor’s Ball

New York, New York, USA

Sep

15

2013

iTunes Festival

London, England, UK

Jul

12

2013

Optimus Alive

Oeiras, Portugal

May

1

2013

BBC Radio 1

London, England, UK

Apr

28

2013

Roseland Ballroom

New York, New York, USA

Apr

20

2013

KCRW’s Berkeley Street Sessions

Santa Monica, California, USA

Jul

15

2012

Pitchfork Music Festival

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Sep

2

2010

In the Venue

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Feb

25

2010

L’Olympia Bruno Coquatrix

Paris, France