The Song That Let Him Be Born Again
In 1968, Neil Diamond walked into a small studio in New York as a man who had lost everything. Columbia Records had dropped him. His previous singles had faded from the charts. The industry whispered that his brief rise was over.
But Neil wasn’t finished. In his own words, “I felt like I was born again — naked, unknown, but determined.”
From that fragile state came “Practically Newborn” — a song that marked both a rebirth and a confession.
A Beginning Amid Doubt
When Velvet Gloves and Spit was released, fans were puzzled. Gone was the bright, upbeat pop of “Cherry Cherry.” In its place stood a deeper, more reflective man — a songwriter exploring soul, forgiveness, and rebirth.
“I’m practically newborn, my soul’s been cleaned,” he sang — part redemption, part restart. Yet those close to Neil knew this wasn’t just about music. It was also about healing a heart that had quietly broken.
The Song About Forgiveness
At the time, Neil was still recovering from the end of his first marriage to Jayne Posner, the mother of his two daughters.
“I wrote that song to learn how to forgive — others and myself,” he once said.
Each lyric reads like a prayer:
“Washed away the years of pain, now I can love again.”
It was not only the story of an artist’s resurrection — but of a man learning to feel again.
A New Diamond Is Born
“Practically Newborn” became the quiet bridge from Neil’s early pop fame to the introspective, soulful artist he would soon become.
Though it wasn’t a hit, it revealed a songwriter who no longer chased charts — he chased truth.
That courage would lead to masterpieces like “I Am… I Said” and “Sweet Caroline.”
More than half a century later, the song still feels like a whispered declaration: that even from ruin, one can start anew — washed clean, practically newborn.