# to dance beneath the diamond sky



## marhee

Hi,

I was hoping someone would be able to translate this for me: "To dance beneath the diamond sky."

It's from the Bob Dylan song Mr. Tambourine Man, and I would like to get it tattooed (permanently!) so any helpful translations and suggestions would be very appreciated. Thank you!


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## BBman

לרקוד תחת שמיי היהלום


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## marhee

Would you be able to do the translation with niqqud? Thank you!


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## BBman

:]

לִרְקֹד תַּחַת שמיי הַיַּהֲלוֹם


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## marhee

BBman said:


> :]
> 
> לִרְקֹד תַּחַת שמיי הַיַּהֲלוֹם



What would it be with another phrase added on so it would read "to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free"? Also, would you be able to post it in a bigger font so that I may print it out and show it to my tattoo artist? Thank you again - you've been so helpful!


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## amikama

Just a tiny correction:


BBman said:


> לרקוד תחת שמ*י* היהלום


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## dinji

Here with nikkud




I'm not sure how to translate the second half


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## marhee

There was some confusion about the second part of the quote, which reads fully, "to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free." This whole quote is just about dancing freely out in the open, about feeling free without a care. Like I said, it comes from the Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man." The whole verse reads, 
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.
I hope explaining this a bit better helps you all help me. Thank you for your input!


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## Lyberty

with one hand waving free
עם יד אחת מנופפת חופשי

can't be bothered with the nikkud, sorry


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## Gadyc

Marhee,

Sincerly, I do not think that it sounds in Hebrew the same than in original song.

Dance beneath diamond sky - became an expression in English and it is quoted all around. I never heard it in Hebrew. I would even say that "Diamond sky" is quite insignificant in Hebrew.
The meaning of "Waving" in the song is מנופפת but it does not create the image of waves of the English version. If I would have to make a real translation of this song, I would work a lot to reproduce in Hebrew the feeling of this verse.

I am quite sure that anybody will recognize the origin of this Hebrew sentence.

I don't know what you want to express. but I would consider making nonsenses you cannot correct.

My advice: you live in the US, right? So, paint the phrase in English on your car. Many people will see it and aprove. Some will even sing this great song, you make them happy and they bless you.
And then, when you find another great song you have the possibiliity to add it or erase and replace the old one. 
I wrote last lines with a smile of course. But, I take the liberty to share my opinion.
Seriously.


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## marhee

Several people have said that a lot about the second part of the quote. I decided to go with just the first part "to dance beneath the diamond sky." As a native speaker, does it sound good in Hebrew? Also, would someone be able to post an attachment of 
לרקוד תחת שמי היהלום
in a more formal  Frank Ruhl type of font, like Dinji did above with the niqqud translation? Thank you and Happy New Year.


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## Lyberty

about the first part: what does the phrase actually mean in English? "diamond sky" - doesn't this mean at night, when the sky is full of stars like diamonds? 

In this case the translation should be something like 
לרקוד תחת רקיע היהלומים 
(diamonds in plural and not singular).

What does everybody think about this one?


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## Gadyc

I wrote about both parts.
Like Lyberty, I can not be sure, if Diamond sky means full of stars, white of clouds, rainny sky or snowden sky (and you dance with no care of the rain/snow).

As I know, this song was not translated to Hebrew. So, I still believe it has totaly not meaning for any (or most) Hebrew speaker.


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## marhee

"Diamond Sky" refers to a night sky filled with stars. I hope that helps. Thank you!


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## marhee

Also, "diamond" here is used as an adjective, even though it is technically a noun.


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## dinji

marhee said:


> several people have said that a lot about the second part of the quote. I decided to go with just the first part "to dance beneath the diamond sky." as a native speaker, does it sound good in hebrew? Also, would someone be able to post an attachment of
> לרקוד תחת שמי היהלום
> in a more formal frank ruhl type of font, like dinji did above with the niqqud translation? Thank you and happy new year.


So taking into account the convincing argumentation put forward for the plural of diamonds, here is a try:


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## marhee

can someone help me distinguish between the meaning/connotation of
לרקוד תחת שמי היהלום and לרקוד תחת רקיע היהלומים
I know that the first uses singular and the second uses plural, but I was wondering about the translation of 'sky.' Thank you!


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## dinji

marhee said:


> can someone help me distinguish between the meaning/connotation of
> לרקוד תחת שמי היהלום and לרקוד תחת רקיע היהלומים
> I know that the first uses singular and the second uses plural, but I was wondering about the translation of 'sky.' Thank you!


רקיע is quite concretely the sky as seen from earth. So if you understand the diamonds to mean the stars it is a better word to use, because the stars are seen against the background of the רקיע
שמיים is the heaven or sky in any meaning, abstract, religious or secular. 

This is how I perceive them in my mixed knowlege of ancient and modern Hebrew. Native speakers??


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## origumi

dinji said:


> רקיע is quite concretely the sky as seen from earth. So if you understand the diamonds to mean the stars it is a better word to use, because the stars are seen against the background of the רקיע
> שמיים is the heaven or sky in any meaning, abstract, religious or secular.


This is correct for modern Hebrew. רקיע is related to the concept of רקע = background, scene, which can be decorated by stars that may look like diamonds (especially when consuming certain chemicals). Therefore Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is לוסי ברקיע היהלומים.

The biblical meaning is more difficult. This is surprising considering that Genesis 1:1-19 can be regarded as a detailed definition of רקיע, שמיים and the relation between them. For instance it says explicitely: וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָרָקִיעַ שָׁמָיִם and later וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי מְאֹרֹת בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם which makes it questionable whether רקיע or שמיים or their combination is more appropriate to be the background for מאורות = stars. The genesis story is remote and enigmatic enough to be the רקע for many explanations along thousands of years with no definite conclusion.


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## Ali Smith

In biblical Hebrew שמים means 'sky', of course. I believe רקיע means 'celestial dome'. But what would רקיע השמים mean? 'the celestial dome of the sky'?


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## Drink

It's kind of redundant when you put it that way in English, but yes that's what it means.


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