Sawdust & Diamonds (track)
by Joanna Newsom
Sawdust & Diamonds appears on the following album(s) by Joanna Newsom:
- Ys (track #3) (this album) (2006)
Upcoming concerts
Listen to Sawdust & Diamonds on YouTube
Sawdust & Diamonds ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this track. | Show all 207 ratings for this track.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/04/2026 02:45 |  AAL2014 | 35,939 | 76/100 | |
| 12/27/2025 17:20 | Siromynian | 16,222 | 70/100 | |
| 11/28/2025 20:21 | Exist-en-ciel | 82,485 | 71/100 | |
| 10/23/2025 02:07 |  imacgill | 31,107 | 81/100 | |
| 08/17/2025 02:45 | mttr-in-plc | 1,997 | 88/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 1% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 86.6/100, a mean average of 84.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.1/100. The standard deviation for this track is 17.9.
Sawdust & Diamonds favourites
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Sawdust & Diamonds comments
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Genuinely feel like this is one of the greatest, most moving, beautiful songs ever written and performed, and am stunned that it's not more highly rated. What is even a possible negative criticism? It's perfect and profound.
giulius06 12/13/2013 20:43 | #97493
one of the most moving song you can listen to. Otherwordly like the rest of the album
eclab 06/02/2012 01:03 | #43491
Has one of the best lines in Ys: "In a moment of almost unbearable vision, doubled over with the hunger of lions, 'Hold me close' cooed the dove, stuffed now with sawdust and diamonds."
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