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The year was 1977 and my father probably still had a full head of hair. Besides that, 13-year-old Dad was able to witness one of the greatest album releases of all time. On the verge of breaking up due to divorce (Christine & Bob McVie) and the on-again-off-again relationship style of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac released their best album and one of the most legendary albums to this day. This throwback Thursday let me take you through Rumors by Fleetwood Mac.
“Second Hand News:” The perfect get out of my life break up song. It’s a funky upbeat song that is basically about telling your ex not to worry about you when you leave. Lindsey Buckingham might be hinting something to Stevie Nicks with this one. Best line: “I ain’t going to miss you when you go / Been down so long.”
“Dreams:” This is probably one of the most popular songs on the album. Written by the queen herself, and I don’t mean Beyonce, Stevie Nicks powerfully answers back to Buckingham’s “Second Hand News” with her own version of letting go. This song is a beautiful ballad with a fantastic drum line that is really noticeable when she sings the word ‘thunder.’ Best line: Now here you go again / You say you want your freedom / Well who am I to keep you down?”
“Never Going Back Again:” I feel like we may be in a back and forth between Nicks and Buckingham. Buckingham wrote this beautiful and simple acoustic song about realizing that after making the same mistake a couple times you can finally realize that you won’t be going back there again. Best line: “She broke down and let me in / Made me see where I’ve been.”
“Don’t Stop:” Christine McVie! There you are. As mentioned before Christine and John McVie were getting divorced when this album was being written. It’s said that Christine wrote this song for her ex-husband and wanted to keep looking forward. Best Line: “All I want is to see you smile / If it takes a little while / I know you don’t believe it’s true / I never meant any harm to you.”
“Go Your Own Way:” Another very popular song from the album, Buckingham wrote this song again for Stevie Nicks. This song though has a sad message behind it, is an incredibly fast tempo song with the best use of musical instruments I’ve ever heard. This song to date is still one of my favorites. Best line: “If I could, baby, I’d give you my whole world / How can I when you won’t take it from me?”
“Songbird:” Let Christine McVie break your heart with this one. This is one of the songs that she wrote and performs still to this day. It’s evident with this ballad the heartbreak she was going through with her divorce. If you want to eat ice cream and think about your ex then this is the song for you. Best line: “And I wish you all the love in the world / But most of all, I wish it from myself.”
“The Chain:” So this will be a little hard to explain but this song is co-written by all of the members of Fleetwood Mac. The thing is that the guys – Lindsey Buckingham and John McVie – wrote the music together while the ladies – Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks – wrote the lyrics. Though all four were never in the same room, all four definitely wrote it. Pretty crazy. The musical genius behind this song is evident and the lyrics fit perfectly with the album. It truly is a piece of art. Best line: “Listen to the wind blow / Watch the sun rise / Run in the shadows / Damn your love / Damn your lies.”
“You Make Loving Fun:” Christine McVie, you little vixen you! Christine told her then husband that she wrote this song about her dog when actually she wrote it about an affair she had. Not sure why John McVie would have ever believed it was about a dog, but anyways. If you are starting a new relationship and have the butterflies in your stomach then this upbeat, beautifully written song about new love is for you. It also has one of the funkiest basslines on the album. Best line: “Sweet wonderful you / You make me happy with the things that you do.”
“I Don’t Want To Know:” This song I will forever be grateful to Stevie Nicks for writing. This is hands down my favorite song on the album and is in my top three of all-time favorite songs ever. If you’re like me and have gone through quite a few weird and wonderful break ups and ended up flat on your back looking up at the ceiling wondering what happened yet again then you’ll love this song as much as I do. It’s an up-tempo song, but the lyrics behind are so powerful and will evoke you to think about what the hell happened to make you and your ex call it quits. Best line: “Finally baby, the truth has been told / Now you tell me that I’m crazy / That’s nothing I didn’t know.”
“Oh Daddy:” This song confuses me. I have done quite a bit of research on this album and this song in particular and I’m still not sure I could tell you what it’s really about. It’s said to be about Mick Fleetwood who was the only person who had kids at the time, but the other conspiracy theory is that Christine McVie wrote it about a lighting director she was dating. Either way it’s a slow song with some interesting keyboarding skills at the end. Not one of my favorites but still very good. Best line: “If I can make you see / If there’s a fool around it’s got to be me.”
“Gold Dust Woman:” Are you super sad that this is the last song on the album? Because I sure am. This is the perfect way to end the album with a slow song about drugs, break-ups and trying to survive. Stevie Nicks was said to be very big into cocaine when she wrote this and has said that it was about getting by while high all the time. It’s a powerful ballad that showcases Nicks’ beautiful voice not to mention the guitar rings out in epic tones. It is that cherry on top to end such an amazing record. Best line: “Well did she make you cry? / Make you break down? / Shatter your illusions of love?”