That kind

Neil Diamond's song 'That Kind' tells a poignant story of a young girl whose beauty and charm captivated everyone around her. At just seventeen, she was the epitome of youthful allure, a 'blue-eyed beauty queen' who broke many hearts, including the narrator's. The lyrics paint a picture of a girl who was admired and desired, yet her dreams and aspirations seemed to be fleeting and unfulfilled. The phrase 'she was just that kind' suggests a certain inevitability about her nature—she was destined to be a heartbreaker, someone who couldn't be tied down or fully understood.

As the song progresses, it becomes clear that her life was marked by a series of transient relationships and unkept promises. Despite her goodness and the narrator's love for her, she was always chasing something more, something beyond the ordinary. The allure of Hollywood and the promise of becoming a movie star symbolize the larger-than-life dreams she harbored. However, these dreams came at a cost. By the age of twenty-one, when most people are just beginning to find their footing in life, she was already gone, her life seemingly wasted and her potential unfulfilled. The repeated line 'she took her chance, she paid her dime' underscores the high stakes of her choices and the ultimate price she paid.

The song is a melancholic reflection on the nature of dreams and the people who chase them. It speaks to the allure of fame and the often harsh reality that accompanies it. The narrator's love for her is tinged with a sense of inevitability and resignation—he couldn't have loved her if she wasn't 'that kind,' someone who was always reaching for something more, even if it meant leaving everything else behind. This bittersweet narrative captures the essence of youthful dreams, the allure of fame, and the often tragic consequences of chasing an elusive ideal.