Gathering stones
The act of gathering stones (drawing on Ecclesiastes 3, Joshua 4, and the practice of stoning) as an image that holds the dual possibility of building/memorialising a life (making a diamond ring, piling stones as a covenant) and violent destruction (stoning).
Stones embody the relationship's unresolved potential: they could have built a marriage or memorialised a covenant, but instead became weapons. The ambiguity is explicit and intentional.
Appears in 2 songs
“When the first stone's thrown, there's screamin'”
The first stone thrown represents the initial public attack or accusation, someone presuming moral authority to condemn the speaker, triggering the cascading riot of public condemnation that follows.
“We gather stones, never knowing what they'll mean / Some to throw, some to make a diamond ring”
Stones carry dual valence, the promise of a marriage (diamond ring) and the violence of stoning, so the relationship's potential is held in the same image as its destruction.