Stevie recounts her 9/11 memories
 

Stevie Nicks recounts her harrowing memories of 9/11
Stevie Nicks InfoFriday, September 11, 20203 min read
Stevie Nicks has shared some thoughts about 9/11. Stevie was in New York when the terrorist strikes occurred. She also shared the audio clip of “Illume (9-11)” from Fleetwood Mac’s 2003 album Say You Will, a song reflecting on her 9/11 experience.

Read Stevie’s full comments below:

Today is 9-11, a day no one ever forgets. As you know I was there ~ and it seems like yesterday. Looking down from high up in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 7:30 on the morning of 9-11 at a sea of yellow cabs~ thinking about going out to enjoy the beauty of New York~ deciding to go to sleep for a few hours and then go out…

The next time I looked out of that same window it was totally grey. No sign of life. My assistant didn’t wake me until after the second plane hit.

And the world changed. I was there from early that morning until Friday night. I waited for my 3 gigs to cancel. I was not going to cancel.

As I drove away in a bus as the sun was going down there was a part of me that wanted to say “Turn this bus around. I need to go back.”

The love and camaraderie and determination of everyone to help was so strong that you could feel it in your blood. Gathered around the TV~ my small team and I watched George Bush stand on that huge pile of debris~ and spiritually reach out to all of us, to try and give us hope in a hopeless situation. I cried. The city cried. The grey sky was crying. But we didn’t feel beaten.

We had this illusive thing in our hearts called hope.
Hope is everything.
The lack of hope ~ is devastating. The opposite of hope ~ is nothing.

When I got home 6 weeks later, I wrote a song called Illume. I have never been able to sing it on stage. I can still hardly listen to it 19 years later. The thing about a song is~ it lives on and reminds you~ in detail~ what happened on a day like 9-11.

I’m going to go listen to it now.

Love,
Stevie Nicks

P.S.
Below is a snippet of a poem I wrote in 2008. I thought these words might mean something to you right now. Poetry is an amazing thing. Sometimes you say things in a poem that you might not say in real time.

Please God
Show us the way
Please God, on this day~
Spirits all, give us the strength
Peace can come if you fight harder~
I think we’re just in time
To save it
Please God
Show us the way
I hope these words give you some hope~

I love you all,
Stevie

Illume (9-11)

She writes about this every year so props to her.

I don't feel George Bush reached out spiritually to me, as I don't think he himself is in connection with what's divine. But if she feels that way, God bless her.

"my assistant didnt wake me until after the second plane hit" Oh man she's just so pig face. (which means pretentious, calm down)

Now now, $he's a saint. Don't be talking bad about Mama.

I love Lindsey's production of ILLUME, but I find the lyrics to be embarrassing. I think when it first came out it was called ILLUME (9/11). After people complained and commented about the stupid lyrics, they removed the (9/11). The song is all about her and it doesn't make sense. I sorta like the chant but it doesn't got with the rest of the song. Par for the course.

One of my all time favourites of her/FM. Classic Stevie incoherent drama.

The reasons you don't like the lyrics are the exact reasons I do like the lyrics. If no one told you it was about 9/11 its very likely you may not even know. That is what symbolism is about. You can dissect the song and find the symbolism like a great poem.
One of her descriptions hit home for me when she refers to 9/11 "its just like a river, its never ending" That is exactly how I felt about that day. It was not just one terrorist attack but a day full of tragedy that just kept coming, hour after hour. The best way to see or learn about history is sometimes through the eyes of someone and their personal experiences. Her story about looking out the window and burning incense to escape the smell is very riveting IMHO. Her calling Osama "shadow of a stranger" is excellent. Its a poem, not a pop song.
What we do agree on is Lindsey's arrangements. The first time you hear the song, you are like WTF? But he captures the unpredictability of 9/11 perfectly. Its a poem that is set to music. Its angry and awkward. The hollow sound of that beginning percussion sets the mood.
This would have been an easy pass for the album. Its a poem, not a pop song. Yet Lindsey made it happen. I think its brilliant from every angle. Not sure why SYW gets bashed in this forum so much yet Tusk is praised. They are both cut from the same cloth at times and really showcase Lindsey's skills.

Well, at the used media store I go to about once a week, copies of nearly EVERYTHING FM (USED) are $9 and up, Say You F*cking Will is $1.95, and they have multiple copies. Production aside, it just isn't IT. Lame assed FM. Sorry. :xoxo:

Maybe the album needed an acoustic version of Oh Daddy ;)

Nine songs on it from Lindsey. That explains it.

Genuinely surprised that they even have " used" media stores anymore. It's all digital now, yet some prefer the hard media, vinyl , cassette, CD etc. I was looking at SYW the other day and to me it's timeless, but to others, just another brick in the FM wall. It's one of those albums and songs that you love to hate or hate to love, but you don't turn it off when it pops up on your XM radio because you just have to hear it as a Stevie or FM fan. Reminds me of Street Angel, another polarizing album from her highness that some love and some just hate. Regardless, you can't not listen when it plays.

Thank God. He actually put effort into lyrics.

"Think of me sweet darlin' every time you don't come" is practically Shakespearean.

Listen to one song? ABSOLUTELY.

If they played the whole thing? Absolutely NOT. Life's too short to fill your time with an entire clunker of an album.

There are so many things to stare at these days.