There is a son Neil Diamond rarely talks about—and that silence holds a wound he never truly healed.
With a career spanning over five decades, Neil Diamond dazzled the world with his timeless ballads. But behind the spotlight lay a quiet, painful truth: his broken relationship with his younger son, Micah Diamond.
Micah – The Forgotten Son
Years of silence, and a gap that words couldn’t bridge
Micah was born from Neil’s second marriage to Marcia Murphey. During the 1990s, while Neil was touring the world, Micah entered a turbulent adolescence—without his father by his side. The distance grew until they reportedly went nearly five years without speaking.
A close friend once revealed: “Neil never spoke about it, but he’d sit in the studio for hours, staring at an old photo of Micah as a child.”
“Hell Yeah” – A Father’s Silent Apology
In 2005, Neil released the album 12 Songs, featuring “Hell Yeah”—a reflective ballad filled with regret. Few people know that the second verse was rewritten just days after Neil reunited with Micah at a private family gathering. Lines like “And if they ask me when I’m gone / Was it everything you dreamed of?” captured the remorse of a father who missed too many moments.
That song wasn’t made to win awards—it was Neil’s way of saying sorry, not in words, but in music.
👉 Suggested listen: “Hell Yeah” – Neil Diamond