It’s been nearly fifty years since the classic Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline” was released in September of 1969, but the song is just as beloved now as it ever was!

When Diamond wrote the song, he could not have known that it would go platinum and remain so popular decades later.

Finally, after all these years, Diamond is finally revealing what the inspiration behind “Sweet Caroline” really was. It turns out that he was simply flipping through a magazine in a hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee when he came upon a photograph that stopped him dead in his tracks and tugged at his heartstrings.

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

Diamond never forgot about the image, and he wrote the lyrics thinking of the song. It wasn’t until the 50th birthday of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg that Diamond revealed that he chose the name Caroline because of her!

“I’ve never discussed it with anybody before – intentionally,” Diamond said. “I thought maybe I would tell it to Caroline when I met her someday. I’m happy to have gotten it off my chest and to have expressed it to Caroline. I thought she might be embarrassed, but she seemed to be struck by it and really, really happy.”

I’m so glad that Diamond has finally revealed what inspired this legendary song! Give “Sweet Caroline” a listen again below!