Neil Diamond Says God Helped Him Write This Song, Inspired by a Politician’s Daughter

In 1969, Neil Diamond released “Sweet Caroline“. The song, written solely by Diamond, is on Diamond’s fourth studio album, Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show.

Videos by American Songwriter

Diamond’s first platinum-selling single, “Sweet Caroline” says, “Where it began / I can’t begin to know when / But then I know it’s growin’ strong / Was in the spring / And spring became the summer / Who’d have believe you’d come along / Hands / Touchin’ hands / Reachin’ out / Touching me, touchin’ you / Sweet Caroline / Good times never seemed so good / I’ve been inclined / To believe they never would.“

Diamond was inspired to write “Sweet Caroline” by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

“I wrote it in a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee,” Diamond tells the Associated Press. “And I think there’s a little bit of God in that song. I always have felt that. There’s no accounting for what can happen to a song. But this one had something special to it.”

Diamond wrote “Sweet Caroline” about Caroline Kennedy, but he waited decades before disclosing the song’s inspiration.

“I’ve never discussed it with anybody before — intentionally,” Diamond reveals in 2007. “I thought maybe I would tell it to Caroline when I met her someday.”

A photo of Caroline Kennedy led to Diamond writing what became his signature song.

“It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony,” Diamond says.. “It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there.”

How “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond Gained New Life, Decades Later

“Sweet Caroline” might have been written in 1969. But almost 30 years later, the song gained new life, when it started being played at Fenway Park during Boston Red Sox games. Since 2002, it has been played during the eighth inning of every game, a tradition that continues today.

According to Boston.com, it is because of Red Sox Executive Vice President Dr. Charles Steinberg, who became part of the organization in 2002, that “Sweet Caroline” became a mainstay at the games.

“I said to Danny Kischel, who was working the control room at the time, I said, ‘Are you going to play ‘Sweet Caroline’ today?’” Diamond recalls. “He said, ‘Oh no, we can’t play it. It’s not a ‘Sweet Caroline’ day.’ I said, ‘What’s a ‘Sweet Caroline’ day?’ He said, ‘We only play ‘Sweet Caroline’ when the team is ahead and the crowd is festive and the atmosphere is already very upbeat.’”

Steinberg quickly changed the policy to make it a permanent part of the fan experience at Fenway Park.

“I wanted it to be the middle of the eighth, because you want your more festive songs to occur when the home team is coming up to bat,” Steinberg explains. “So we started playing it each day in 2002.”

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images