Nightbird appreciation thread

[Stephanie]

This week I have listened to this song many times and wanted to express my new appreciation. Anyone else??

[LeighB04]

one of my favourite songs!

[AliceLover]

Am I the only one who is not fond of this song?

[Stephanie]

Am I the only one who is not fond of this song?

maybe if you listen to it over and over...it will grow on you?

[AliceLover]

maybe if you listen to it over and over...it will grow on you?

I used to watch the SnL one over and over. Its an ok song I guess, but I like others on that album better.

[Dreammms]

Nightbird is the best song ever. It's in my top 10.

[ontheEdgeof17]

Nightbird is the best song ever. It's in my top 10.

It's in my Top 20. :)



Side Note: I need to rank all of Stevie's released stuff in order from fav to least fav.

[Stephanie]

I would love for her to perform this on tour; With Lori or Sharon on harmonies.

[Dreammms]

Side Note: I need to rank all of Stevie's released stuff in order from fav to least fav.

:eek: I don't think I would be able to do that. If you end up making the list please post it.

[StevieNicksEO17]

I love when Stevie and Lori sing it. Especially when they sing off the same mic.

[LiquidBlue5000]

Am I the only one who is not fond of this song?


no.. you are not alone.. it is just "ok" in my book...

[WildInTheWind]

I Love it. I wish they would have done it on the WIld Heaet tour. Why do it for a couple of TV shows and not do it live? And it sounded great. Doesnt' make sense.

[Moony]

Word. I could deal without it. :sorry:
yes. I like the first verse, but once that chorus hits -ugh- it bugs the **** out of me.

[sparky]

In my top ten. Probably top three on the record.
Best Sandy Stewart moment ever.

[catinthedark]

I have always, from the very first time I heard it, loved this song. It's just one of those songs. I could listen to it continuously, and never get tired of it.

[golden braid]

I love this song. When we did a Wild Heart song survivor awhile back I think Nightbird won so it's a popular song around here.

[AliceLover]

I love this song. When we did a Wild Heart song survivor awhile back I think Nightbird won so it's a popular song around here.

Nightbird won?!?! Over Stand Back and Beauty and the Beast? Surprised.

[1934mission]

I love this song, especially when Stevie sang it live at the mic with Lori on SNL and Solid Gold.

[SapphireSister]

I have just recently found some major love for Nightbird. I prefer it to Wild Heart actually. The problem though (which seems to occur on a lot of her songs) are the verses are so much stronger than the chorus (and yes I know SS wrote the music). I love it until I hear "And when I called you..." and wait for the second verse to kick in. Oh and the lyrics are to die for. I live for this classic Stevie poetry:

"And the summer became the fall
I was not ready for the winter
It makes no difference at all
'Cause I wear boots all summer long

My eye-make-up is dark and it's careless
Some circles around my eyes
Sometimes the real color of my skin
Is my eyes without any shadow"

*melts"
What a chiffon head I am.

[Stephanie]

I like her voice during the first part when she sings "capes pulled around them tight" for some reason. It sounds very signature "stevie"

[wheart]

I ADORE Nightbird...definitely in my top 5! Such an incredibly poignant tribute to Robin. And I love how she ties in "Just Like the White Winged Dove" at the end, which goes back to her losing her uncle and John Lennon in "Edge of Seventeen". Brillant! I think Nightbird would go over very well on stage, even with Sharon singing the chorus with Stevie if Lori wasn't available. Strange it was never a concert staple.

"And the dark thru the net of the lace...pulls back the net and it's hard to see her face..."

[dissention]

Love it. It's pure Stevie before her writing turned to **** for Rock A Little. She really missed the tuna boat by not performing it live.

[ontheEdgeof17]

Love it. It's pure Stevie before her writing turned to **** for Rock A Little. She really missed the tuna boat by not performing it live.

Rumor has it that it was going to be put in during the next leg of the WH Tour. She decided to start recording on RAL and getting her ass kicked out of OZ, instead.

[vermicious knid]

I love this song; it was an immediate favorite upon purchasing The Wild Heart. But something nags at me about the song. I think the staccato, artificial sounding beat is out of place among the creamy melody and vocals. I think the dreamy sounding beat of "Sable on Blond" must have been heartlessly torn away from its true owner, "Nightbird".


I said "Some Become Strangers" when I meant "Sable on Blond" How absent-minded!

[darklinensuit]

Was my favorite song for some time. Now it's top ten, maybe #5 in top five.
And the chorus is great.

- Jake

[GardenStateGirlie]

Love her performance of this song along with Stand Back on SNL back in the 80s :nod: Great vocals.

[Serendipity]

LOVE the lyrics, such classic Stevie, but not so much the music. I dont know why, but I prefer reading the lyrics to really listening to it. But I am going to go listen to it soon, just to make sure I dont secretly love it!

~Nicki

[Dark Angel]

I love it! It's probably in my top 15.

[JazmenFlowers]

Love her performance of this song along with Stand Back on SNL back in the 80s :nod: Great vocals.

yeppers - Nightbird is an awesome song.

[GypsySorcerer]

I love it. One of my favorite Stevie songs ever. Beautiful melody, great vocal, haunting chorus.

[Hawkeye]

An excellent song. op 3 for that album and one of her best ever.

[Wild_Heart03]

*fashionably late*

One of my favorite Stevie songs, definitely in my top 10. :nod:

[BombaySapphire3]

They should not have used the drum machine I think they were doing it because it was new technology then .Otherwise great song.

[bikerchic]

love, love, love it! I thought for sure she might do it in vegas with lori. the performance on snl, sharing the mic, and the way stevie looks at lori, so up close, so almost intimate, so cute, awesome! capes pulled around them tight, love that line!

[svnwndrs]

They should not have used the drum machine I think they were doing it because it was new technology then .Otherwise great song.

Yeah, the beat kind of reminds me of "Billie Jean" by MJ. But I really don't mind the drum machine. Hell, I love drum machines! :o

[xxxmx]

NB has always been an oft-played favorite, most especially because of the last lyrics... i tear up more often than i care to admit during the 'hard to see her face' 'touch that you want so much' part. much love to nightbird.

ps- brian, your 'book' sucks... ;)

[LiquidBlue5000]

ps- brian, your 'book' sucks... ;)

sorry, darling... but it's right there in black and white... page 37, paragraph 6, line 8 - "the song Nightbird by Stevie Nicks is 'just ok'....." :p

[face of glass]

My favourite Stevie solo song, period. Also I love the slightly lesbian vibes in the 1983 SNL performance. :D

[Kelly]

I have a particular soft spot for Nightbird. Most of the time I like Stevie songs for what they tell me about Stegie. I am not one of those that tries to relate her lyrics to my life and my relationships. I like to listen to what she is saying and think about what it could mean in her life. With Nightbird, I DO relate it to my own life and what I was going through at the time the song was played alot in my house. It brings back tons of memories and everytime I hear it I am reminded of why I feel connected to Stevie's music and lyrics. The song Nightbird will always be one of my favorite Stevie songs...

In fact, the entire Wild Heart album is one of my most favorite. I do not always listen to the album because there is such an overwhelming sadness running through the entire thing but the songs on it are all greatness. If I am in a happy or up mood, I would never put on WH.....however if I am down or sad, I will put on the album because all the songs will speak to me. Wild Heart also marked the end of Stevie's truly great writing until TISL. (hmmmm...the inspiration is back...)

[Highwayman]

It's OK -- not enough for me to hate, but certainly not enough there for me to love. The melody is great, the music is great, the chorus is great, the breakdown at the end is great, the verses SUCK. Makeup and boots? I can't relate. Should have been a B-side.

[MirrorInTheSky]

Yup, yup, yup....my favorite song off of The Wild Heart. I listened to it non-stop when I first bought the CD.

[mikeschmike]

I love Nightbird. Love Love Love! :nod:

[LeighB04]

I would love a breakdown of the vamp vocals at the end - I can make some out, but not all, and it's always intrigued me when she does that. I think she also vamps in Battle of the Dragon.... very cool stuff, but hardly intelligible...

[Nightbird17]

This week I have listened to this song many times and wanted to express my new appreciation. Anyone else??



Check out the live performance on Solid Gold. The only artist to ever sing live on Solid Gold :D

[HejiraNYC]

Check out the live performance on Solid Gold. The only artist to ever sing live on Solid Gold :D

Don't forget the time Deborah Harry croaked out "The Tide is High" when she hosted the show one week. Make no mistake, something was definitely "high," and it wasn't just the tide. :lol:

In my teenage rocker mindset, I thought the choruses for Nighbird were too syrupy sweet. And I wasn't quite old enough to go beyond thinking it was about some ho wearing funky smellin' boots and sloppy makeup. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I could understand and find the beauty in the song. My favorite thing is the day/night aspect of the song. The verses depict the sad reality of her daytime life in mourning and is full of harsh/discordant sounding minor chords. But the choruses depict the nighttime when she can dream of the departed, and the music is now full of lilting/comforting major chords. It's hard to imagine that this is the same musical partnership that gave us "Too Far from Texas" :eek:

[Nightbird17]

In my teenage rocker mindset, I thought the choruses for Nighbird were too syrupy sweet. And I wasn't quite old enough to go beyond thinking it was about some ho wearing funky smellin' boots and sloppy makeup. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I could understand and find the beauty in the song. My favorite thing is the day/night aspect of the song. The verses depict the sad reality of her daytime life in mourning and is full of harsh/discordant sounding minor chords. But the choruses depict the nighttime when she can dream of the departed, and the music is now full of lilting/comforting major chords. It's hard to imagine that this is the same musical partnership that gave us "Too Far from Texas" :eek:[/QUOTE]




very well put

[GODDESS6]

This week I have listened to this song many times and wanted to express my new appreciation. Anyone else??
fab song, i remember watching her sing it on solid gold!!!~

"cause i wear boots all summer long..."~

[PenguinHead]

Check out the live performance on Solid Gold. The only artist to ever sing live on Solid Gold :D

Gotta give the girl props for that. The music was canned though. I recall a clip --- I think from Germany --- where Stevie and her singers sang "Rooms on Fire" over the recording.

Stevie more often that not avoids lip-synching probably because she is so bad at it.

[Macfanforever]

I love Nightbird too . love the melody of it .

[Kelly]

Stevie does suck at lip synching. So does Lindsey. God damn that Silver Springs from Germany in 98 is freaking hilarious. They all look so nervous and Stevie misses entire lines. As she stands there smiling at Lindsey, with her mouth completely closed...the audience hears her singing. It makes me laugh because the look on her face is priceless. The hotness between her and LB was pretty intense too, which is why this performance is one of my ultimate favorites.

[equeen102289]

I love Nightbird. I don't know why she never did it on the Wild Heart tour...but that's what I asked Lori...so maybe she'll have an answer for me.
If you didn't know what the song was about, the lyrics could come off very cheesy, and just kinda seems like Stevie was running out of words to rhyme. But if you dig deeper into the song, you can see it's very meaningful, and the music fits the mood of the song perfect. So yeah, I love it!

[bikerchic]

Stevie does suck at lip synching. So does Lindsey. God damn that Silver Springs from Germany in 98 is freaking hilarious. They all look so nervous and Stevie misses entire lines. As she stands there smiling at Lindsey, with her mouth completely closed...the audience hears her singing. It makes me laugh because the look on her face is priceless. The hotness between her and LB was pretty intense too, which is why this performance is one of my ultimate favorites.
Where can I see this?

[greatdarkwing]

I LOVE the Solid Gold Nightbird peformance, as I love this song in general. I love how her voice sounds in key moments during the song.

[greatdarkwing]

Stevie does suck at lip synching. So does Lindsey. God damn that Silver Springs from Germany in 98 is freaking hilarious. They all look so nervous and Stevie misses entire lines. As she stands there smiling at Lindsey, with her mouth completely closed...the audience hears her singing. It makes me laugh because the look on her face is priceless. The hotness between her and LB was pretty intense too, which is why this performance is one of my ultimate favorites.

That performance is priceless :laugh:

[gldstwmn]

I love this song; it was an immediate favorite upon purchasing The Wild Heart. But something nags at me about the song. I think the staccato, artificial sounding beat is out of place among the creamy melody and vocals. I think the dreamy sounding beat of "Sable on Blond" must have been heartlessly torn away from its true owner, "Nightbird".


Well, one's a drum machine and the other is Mick Fleetwood so...

[gldstwmn]

Check out the live performance on Solid Gold. The only artist to ever sing live on Solid Gold :D

The Stand Back performance where she comes out in red is wild!

[gldstwmn]

Don't forget the time Deborah Harry croaked out "The Tide is High" when she hosted the show one week. Make no mistake, something was definitely "high," and it wasn't just the tide. :lol:

In my teenage rocker mindset, I thought the choruses for Nighbird were too syrupy sweet. And I wasn't quite old enough to go beyond thinking it was about some ho wearing funky smellin' boots and sloppy makeup. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I could understand and find the beauty in the song. My favorite thing is the day/night aspect of the song. The verses depict the sad reality of her daytime life in mourning and is full of harsh/discordant sounding minor chords. But the choruses depict the nighttime when she can dream of the departed, and the music is now full of lilting/comforting major chords. It's hard to imagine that this is the same musical partnership that gave us "Too Far from Texas" :eek:

I know. What happened there? I wonder why Stevie chose that song?

[David]

In my teenage rocker mindset, I thought the choruses for Nighbird were too syrupy sweet. And I wasn't quite old enough to go beyond thinking it was about some ho wearing funky smellin' boots and sloppy makeup. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I could understand and find the beauty in the song. My favorite thing is the day/night aspect of the song. The verses depict the sad reality of her daytime life in mourning and is full of harsh/discordant sounding minor chords. But the choruses depict the nighttime when she can dream of the departed, and the music is now full of lilting/comforting major chords.Beautiful insight, Hejira. I would only disagree with the characterization of those minor chords as discordant: they're just standard suspended 2nds, & not discordant to these ears. But you make a great point about the minor tonality of the verses & the major tonality of the chorus counterbalancing the former.

I'd like to join the "Nightbird" appreciation group, too, but part of me can't. To me, the song is close to being beautiful but the track sort of gets in its way with musical miscalculations like the cold electronic drums & all those heaving Prophets, & Waddy playing his slide-like country-rock licks. that's what doesn't work for me.

More than any other song in Stevie's solo career, I'd like to hear what Fleetwood Mac would have done with 'Nightbird' -- which is weird, considering many critics thought it was the most Fleetwood Macish song on that album.

[vermicious knid]

Comparing "Nightbird" and "Sable on Blond":
Well, one's a drum machine and the other is Mick Fleetwood so...
When the songs were at the demo stage, they should have been able to tell that Nightbird was the better song, and chose to have Mick Fleetwood grace "Nightbird" instead.


The Stand Back performance where she comes out in red is wild!
Hold up. Stevie performed "Stand Back" on Solid Gold also? I thought it was just "Nightbird".

[gldstwmn]

Comparing "Nightbird" and "Sable on Blond":

When the songs were at the demo stage, they should have been able to tell that Nightbird was the better song, and chose to have Mick Fleetwood grace "Nightbird" instead.
I think it may have been more of a logistics issue. Stevie has said that The Wild Heart was mostly recorded live. She said she recorded it when the great musicians were in town. I believe she says this in the Jim Ladd interview for the release of The Wild Heart. This may have been one of the times Mick was off doing his thing with the Zoo. :shrug:



Hold up. Stevie performed "Stand Back" on Solid Gold also? I thought it was just "Nightbird".

Now, I'm almost positive it was Solid Gold. She wore this red outfit and just rocked it. She was at her rock star finest. The used to play it on VH1. I think I actually wrote about it in one of my journals so I will double check.

[gldstwmn]

I checked my journal KarmaContestant and indeed it was Stand Back on Solid Gold. The VH1 replay I watched aired May 3, 1998. :)