Everybody Loves You interview

[michelej1]

[Reconfigured from her earlier interview]
http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/10/stevie-nicks-everybody-loves-you/

Lyric of the Week, by Tuneseat, October 10, 2011

Stevie Nicks, “Everybody Loves You”
By Davis Inman October 10th, 2011 at 8:56 am


This week’s Lyric Of The Week presented by TuneSat.

With a chorus hook that seems in equal parts inspired by the hit DNA of U2′s “One” and REM’s “Everybody Hurts,” Stevie Nicks and Dave Stewart have penned a modern classic in “Everybody Loves You.”

The song comes on Stevie Nicks’ new album, In Your Dreams, produced by Dave Stewart. It seems appropriate that for Nicks’ first album in a decade, she’s chosen to tackle aspects of Fleetwood Mac’s complicated past: the romantic entanglements and revolving personnel doors that would lead to the group’s most successful work.

Fleetwood Mac began life as a Peter Green-helmed British blues rock entity, along with the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, for whom Green named the band and who would prove to be the only stable force through years of lineup changes.

By the early ‘70s, Green was out, and the band seemed to be switching guitar-playing singer-songwriters like relief pitchers in a baseball game. (1974’s Kiln House seems a clear high-water mark for the ’50s blues-meets-’70s soft rock transitional period caretaken by Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer.)

By 1975, Mick Fleetwood had moved the band to Los Angeles and was looking for a new guitarist. In a feature story, Nicks tells American Songwriter’s Lynne Margolis that “destiny” brought she and Lindsay Buckingham together.

“[Mick Fleetwood] definitely heard strains of Peter Green [in Lindsay Buckingham] and all the other famous guitar players who had been in Fleetwood Mac for the five years before that. So the fact that this big tall guy would come in and Keith Olsen would play him a song off a Buckingham-Nicks record that never really went anywhere, that two years before had opened to critical acclaim and then was dropped like a rock by Polydor—what are the chances of that? One in 20 million?”

Buckingham and Nicks would join the group and Olsen would produce the new lineup’s first album, Fleetwood Mac (their second eponymous release). The Buckingham-Nicks dynamic would help move the band into Fleetwood Mac’s golden era of ‘70s California smooth rock, which in 1977 produced Rumours, created in the midst of the power couple’s disintegration.

Stewart also headed up a famous formerly-romantic musical duo with Annie Lennox in Eurythmics, and Nicks says there was an unspoken bond between the two when working together on “Everybody Loves You.”

“I immediately took it like he was writing that about Annie Lennox, because that sounded like a person from a duo writing a song about the other person in the duo. And what Dave and I had that was great was that we’d both been in really famous duos, so the whole time we were making this record, I feel like Lindsey and Annie were floating around in the room. Because a lot of the stuff that we both wrote seemed to be directed to our years as famous people in duos.”

Although Nicks considers herself a staunchly solo writer, she opened up her creative process to Stewart, working off a previously-written chorus for “Everybody Loves You.”

“I wrote all the lyrics on the whole record except for the chorus of ‘Everybody Loves You,’ and that’s the first song that [Stewart] sent me the night that I called him. It had the chorus, which said [sings], ‘Everybody loves you but you’re so alone, no one really knows you, but I’m the only one.’ He said, ‘Write the verses to that.’ And I said, ‘OK.’ But that’s not like getting a track with no vocals. He had set the song up with that chorus, so then I had to build a story around those four lines, which was great—it was a challenge.”

In many ways, “Everybody Loves You” could be an update on Nicks’ biggest song ever, “Dreams,” in which she sings:

Now here you go again
You say you want your freedom
Well, who am I to keep you down?
It’s only right that you should
Play the way you feel it

While “Dreams” dealt with the “rumours,” infighting, and complexities of being in a simultaneous professional and romantic (or once-romantic) relationship with Buckingham, “Everybody Loves You” is a nostalgic look back on what was.

“The words to ‘Everybody Loves You’ came from a poem that’s pretty old, like maybe 12 years old, that was definitely written about [Buckingham]. Where it says, ‘No one else can play that part. No voice of a stranger could play that part/It broke my heart,’ that’s pretty much all about Lindsey.”

“Everybody Loves You”

She was so enticed
By his smile
She was so unaffected
By his dream
For his dream of her
Was just not possible
She was so not that girl

It was just one of those things
That happened or didn’t happen
A strand of golden hair tangled
Like the words of a song
Like a spider’s web
And then he said

Everybody loves you
But you’re so alone
Everybody knows your name
But you can’t find your way home
No one really knows you
I’m the only one

She was so enchanted by his voice
She was so shaken by his words
His plan for her…
Was just not possible
She had no words…

Ooh it isn’t just that
We cause each other such pain
Everywhere we go now
At home or on stage
Sometimes it was heavenly
Sometimes it was too heavy
I looked the other way

Everybody loves you
But you’re so alone
Everybody knows your name
But you can’t find your way home
No one really knows you
I’m the only one

Don’t come here again
Unless fear of fire leaves you cold
And the cold makes you tired
If you feel it all
It’s all about desire
About when you were true
About a bird on a wire
And that was you

She does still hear him
All night long
The same song over and over
It heals her heart
No voice of a stranger
Could play that part
It broke her heart
Broke her heart

Everybody loves you
But you’re so alone
Everybody knows your name
But you can’t find your way home

Everybody loves you
But you’re so alone
Everybody knows your name
But you can’t find your way home
No one really knows you
I’m the only one

[RockAlot]

I still very much like this song. I know many of the fans were not to fond of this but I like it.....so there!! :p

[Jondalar]

One of the most fully realized songs she has ever done. This song has a lot going for it. Extremely sophisticated.

[mitzo]

Absolutely - it was and remains my favourite from IYD. Everything from the sentiments, the lyrics, the arrangement and production, the atmosphere, it all works in a perfect Stevie way.

[STEVEHEDRICK]

I like it too!

[tabruns]

I love this song. It's one of my favorites on the album, and it sounds like it has single potential.

The people I've seen on here who don't like it usually say that what they don't like is the chorus.

[WildHearted]

The people I've seen on here who don't like it usually say that what they don't like is the chorus.

I must be one of those people - I like it a lot, except for that.

[mikephxaz]

Aaaauuughhh

"With a chorus hook that seems in equal parts inspired by the hit DNA of U2′s “One” and REM’s “Everybody Hurts,” Stevie Nicks and Dave Stewart have penned a modern classic in “Everybody Loves You.”

Mr Inman lost me on with his first sentence...to compare the hook of Everybody Loves You to U2's One or REMs Everybody Hurts....those are true classics...Stevie's nasal performance and cliche chorus on ELY will be long forgotten on what is a classic album...sorry guys:distress:

[michelej1]

It was a surprise to hear the full song and like it very much, after having dismissed the preview snippet that Dave gave us. In its entirety, the song has atmosphere and depth, a tinge of sadness that can elude you in 30 second bites.

Michele

[Jondalar]

It was a surprise to hear the full song and like it very much, after having dismissed the preview snippet that Dave gave us. In its entirety, the song has atmosphere and depth, a tinge of sadness that can elude you in 30 second bites.

Michele

I think you nailed it — atmosphere and depth. There were people who loved Blue Denim. That song was just a guitar rift with a chorus. This song is just the opposite. There is soo much to it. It's not chorus dependent. It's just excellent and fully realized.

[jellyman10]

Aaaauuughhh

"With a chorus hook that seems in equal parts inspired by the hit DNA of U2′s “One” and REM’s “Everybody Hurts,” Stevie Nicks and Dave Stewart have penned a modern classic in “Everybody Loves You.”

Mr Inman lost me on with his first sentence...to compare the hook of Everybody Loves You to U2's One or REMs Everybody Hurts....those are true classics...Stevie's nasal performance and cliche chorus on ELY will be long forgotten on what is a classic album...sorry guys:distress:

'Inspired by' is an ambiguous statement. It can mean he think ELY compares with those two others (as you read it) or that it's derivative of them and not necessarily in a good way. The piece is overall favourable, though, so perhaps it is a favourable comparison.

He lost me too at that point, by the way, because he's talking sh*te. These songs are not all that similar, except that both One and Everybody Hurts are full-on overrated dirges, while ELY is a dirge on the chorus alone. And not overrated. It's rated about right, i.e. one of the best tracks on IYD, which is the latest album from Stevie Nicks, who used to sing with Fleetwood Mac, yes, who were big in the 70s.

[jellyman10]

I think the reason I don't enjoy the chorus as much as the verses is that Dave's vocal sounds a bit like someone trying to sing a harmony but not sure of the notes, so they're just trying to mumble them so much that it's not noticed. He's also got one of those rumbly, half-talky singing voices, like JJ Cale or Eric Clapton or even Leonard Cohen. Kind of an acquired taste, and one that probably sounds better by itself? :shrug:

[Artemis]

ELY is actually one of my favourite songs on the album, I just love the way the song switches half way through from being a typical mid-tempo meandering Stevie song, to this intense beast of a song. I know a lot of people are annoyed by the way Stevie pronounces "can't" in the chorus, but, it doesn't bother me at all. Possibly because I'm British and therefore don't notice it being so out of place? :laugh:

[BrownEyedGirl26]

ELY is actually one of my favourite songs on the album, I just love the way the song switches half way through from being a typical mid-tempo meandering Stevie song, to this intense beast of a song. I know a lot of people are annoyed by the way Stevie pronounces "can't" in the chorus, but, it doesn't bother me at all. Possibly because I'm British and therefore don't notice it being so out of place? :laugh:

I liked the way she pronounced can't the british way, because she really had no choice. The American pronounciation, if you think about it, wouldn't sound right. imho!:shrug:

[GoldDustWoman87]

Instant favourite for me when I first heard it.

Along with For What It's Worth.

[PolishStevieFan]

"Everybody Loves You" was actually a song that has grown on me. It has taken me some time to appreciate its beauty but finally I can say, that I'm a big fan of this song. For me it sounds a bit like something from Eurythmics' "Peace" album and even has some elements of Beatles music (at least for me). The beginning of the song is dreadful and when I first heard it I thought to myself: "it's going to be another modern R&B stylized song", but the guitar solo in the middle convinced me that it was a "real thing".

[gldstwmn]

I wonder what song she's referring to when she says "She does still hear him all night long, the same song over and over, it heals her heart..."

[WildHearted]

I wonder what song she's referring to when she says "She does still hear him all night long, the same song over and over, it heals her heart..."

Good question. Especially since, according to Stevie, he didn't write beautiful love songs about her. :shrug:

[elle]

I wonder what song she's referring to when she says "She does still hear him all night long, the same song over and over, it heals her heart..."

interesting. in "Gone too far" lindsey sings "alone at night ... you wake up singing one of my songs."

[michelej1]

interesting. in "Gone too far" lindsey sings "alone at night ... you wake up singing one of my songs."

Nice.

Michele

[tabruns]

I bet it's "Tusk".

:laugh:

[michelej1]

He has songs on UTS and GOS that should heal her heart, but I bet she doesn't even listen to those:(.

Michele

[windbecame]

I wonder what song she's referring to when she says "She does still hear him all night long, the same song over and over, it heals her heart..."

i dunno... i thought she was referring to the loooong tour when they sang "say goodbye" ???? just my opinion:shrug:

[michelej1]

Probably SHN and all that tall grass.

Michele

[LikeAWillow]

I'm not a huge ELY fan, but the verse, "Don't come here again/unless fear of fire leaves you cold/ and the cold makes you tired/ if you feel it at all/ it's all about desire/ about when you were true/ about a bird on a wire and that was you" is probably the most played fifteen seconds of any song on my ipod. I listen to it in isolation at least once daily.

The idea of her accusing Lindsey of being afraid of what they had is so interesting to me-- she's usually portrayed as the one who ran, and contextually, the notion that it was he doesn't really fit with the rest of the song. The other verses are peppered with lines like "I look the other way," "She was so shaken by his words," and the always...charming, "His dream for her was just not possible; she was so not that girl." Is that verse (and the one after it that she directly sites in this article as being drafted in the late 90s) a reference to the Dance period in particular, rather than their relationship as a whole? Ugh, and then the fact that it starts out with "Don't come here again unless..." Do any other recent songs offer him a loophole to return at all? I don't think so.

I would also love to know if she's directly referencing Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire." Anybody know if she's ever mentioned the song anywhere else?

Srsly favorite small moment evah.

[WildHearted]

I'm not a huge ELY fan, but the verse, "Don't come here again/unless fear of fire leaves you cold/ and the cold makes you tired/ if you feel it at all/ it's all about desire/ about when you were true/ about a bird on a wire and that was you" is probably the most played fifteen seconds of any song on my ipod. I listen to it in isolation at least once daily.

The idea of her accusing Lindsey of being afraid of what they had is so interesting to me-- she's usually portrayed as the one who ran, and contextually, the notion that it was he doesn't really fit with the rest of the song. The other verses are peppered with lines like "I look the other way," "She was so shaken by his words," and the always...charming, "His dream for her was just not possible; she was so not that girl." Is that verse (and the one after it that she directly sites in this article as being drafted in the late 90s) a reference to the Dance period in particular, rather than their relationship as a whole? Ugh, and then the fact that it starts out with "Don't come here again unless..." Do any other recent songs offer him a loophole to return at all? I don't think so.

I would also love to know if she's directly referencing Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire." Anybody know if she's ever mentioned the song anywhere else?

Srsly favorite small moment evah.

She has mentioned it actually, I think, but I think she said it was a phrase that she knew she'd heard somewhere and couldn't place it - until she realized it was from that song. Then she started talking about other Leonard Cohen songs she used to sing, or something haha.

[CADreaming]

She has mentioned it actually, I think, but I think she said it was a phrase that she knew she'd heard somewhere and couldn't place it - until she realized it was from that song. Then she started talking about other Leonard Cohen songs she used to sing, or something haha.

Curiously, Dave Stewart is a fan of Leonard Cohen's and co-wrote a song with him. He also produced the Neville Brothers version of "Bird on a Wire" for the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1990 with Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn.

[bombaysaffires]

I'm not a huge ELY fan, but the verse, "Don't come here again/unless fear of fire leaves you cold/ and the cold makes you tired/ if you feel it at all/ it's all about desire/ about when you were true/ about a bird on a wire and that was you" is probably the most played fifteen seconds of any song on my ipod. I listen to it in isolation at least once daily.

The idea of her accusing Lindsey of being afraid of what they had is so interesting to me-- she's usually portrayed as the one who ran, and contextually, the notion that it was he doesn't really fit with the rest of the song. The other verses are peppered with lines like "I look the other way," "She was so shaken by his words," and the always...charming, "His dream for her was just not possible; she was so not that girl." Is that verse (and the one after it that she directly sites in this article as being drafted in the late 90s) a reference to the Dance period in particular, rather than their relationship as a whole? Ugh, and then the fact that it starts out with "Don't come here again unless..." Do any other recent songs offer him a loophole to return at all? I don't think so.

I would also love to know if she's directly referencing Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire." Anybody know if she's ever mentioned the song anywhere else?

Srsly favorite small moment evah.


I've always thought this song was a companion piece to Thrown Down and about that time.... the whole 'she was so shaken by his words" etc resonates with the lines in Thrown Down about "a decision no one makes" and "he held her hand she listened to what he had to say" "maybe now he could prove to her that he could be good for her" and the lines "his plan for her was just not possible... she had no words" reminds me of "you say you're sorry, now you should walk away.. but it's so overwhelming you have nothing left to say"

[CADreaming]

Is that verse (and the one after it that she directly sites in this article as being drafted in the late 90s) a reference to the Dance period in particular, rather than their relationship as a whole? Ugh, and then the fact that it starts out with "Don't come here again unless..." Do any other recent songs offer him a loophole to return at all? I don't think so.




Well, she says FFG is "like" NGBA when he says, "come down and see me again". Not sure how she draws that comparison, but in her mind I guess she knows why...

But, I think what I like best about ELY is the recycling of Not Make Believe -

"It isn’t just that
We cause each other such pain
Everywhere we go now
At home or on stage
Sometimes it was heavenly
Sometimes it was too heavy"

Plus, it just always makes me laugh thinking about the Unleashed tour review when someone in Australia yelled out "I love you, Stevie!" and Lindsey looked over at her and said, “SOMEONE loves you, Stevie...We all love Stevie.”

[mikephxaz]

i dunno... i thought she was referring to the loooong tour when they sang "say goodbye" ???? just my opinion:shrug:

Good guess...lets go with that one!:blob2:

[jellyman10]

I'm not a huge ELY fan, but the verse, "Don't come here again/unless fear of fire leaves you cold/ and the cold makes you tired/ if you feel it at all/ it's all about desire/ about when you were true/ about a bird on a wire and that was you" is probably the most played fifteen seconds of any song on my ipod. I listen to it in isolation at least once daily.

The idea of her accusing Lindsey of being afraid of what they had is so interesting to me-- she's usually portrayed as the one who ran, and contextually, the notion that it was he doesn't really fit with the rest of the song.

Increasingly, when I feel a bit shipper-ish, I'm starting to think that it sounds at times almost like she thinks he betrayed their destiny to be in this tortured relationship for the rest of their lives. That when he chose (as she saw it) the sane and safe option of a conventional marriage and family life, he kind of chickened out? :shrug:

[sushud82]

Increasingly, when I feel a bit shipper-ish, I'm starting to think that it sounds at times almost like she thinks he betrayed their destiny to be in this tortured relationship for the rest of their lives. That when he chose (as she saw it) the sane and safe option of a conventional marriage and family life, he kind of chickened out? :shrug:

That's an interesting perception. It certainly fits in with things she has said in the past about how they are destined to sing together and be in the band together for the rest of their lives. It's always been portrayed that Stevie was this unattainable goddess and she walked away from their relationship but then Lindsey got married and ultimately "won the game." Sometimes I think she had her pride wounded more than anything. Especially because, bless his heart, Lindsey can take on a bit of a smug or condescending attitude about the personal success he has found with the whole perfect marriage/family thing.

But...she sings more than once on this album that he broke her heart. Which I find interesting considering that should've been said and done long ago. I find this song fascinating and its one of my favorites on the album. I love the way it ties into other songs of hers as well.

[jellyman10]

But...she sings more than once on this album that he broke her heart. Which I find interesting considering that should've been said and done long ago. I find this song fascinating and its one of my favorites on the album. I love the way it ties into other songs of hers as well.

!Shipper content alert! :lol:

I agree, it is fascinating. And, you know, it's all quite consistent when you consider the Silver Springs mantra 'I know I could have loved you but you would not let me'. Most impartial listeners to Stevie's 'LB' songs would think that he dumped her. But no. Her take on it is always that he drove her away. And the truly heartbreaking thing is that when he finally got himself sorted enough to the point when 'Maybe he could be good for her', he goes and gets another woman pregnant, which, no matter what he might think, is 'Game over' for Stevie. Just mho, of course.

[sushud82]

!Shipper content alert! :lol:

I agree, it is fascinating. And, you know, it's all quite consistent when you consider the Silver Springs mantra 'I know I could have loved you but you would not let me'. Most impartial listeners to Stevie's 'LB' songs would think that he dumped her. But no. Her take on it is always that he drove her away. And the truly heartbreaking thing is that when he finally got himself sorted enough to the point when 'Maybe he could be good for her', he goes and gets another woman pregnant, which, no matter what he might think, is 'Game over' for Stevie. Just mho, of course.

It really is kinda heartbreaking. After all those yars, Destiny Rules, after all. So close, yet so far. "It was just one of those things that happened or didn't happen."

And you're right. She was the one who dumped him but it's always seemed the other way around. I always got the sense that she regretted that at certain points throughout her life but more so recently, even in spite of her "over my dead body" talk of the late 90s and even now that they've supposedly made their peace.

[Jondalar]

It really is kinda heartbreaking. After all those yars, Destiny Rules, after all. So close, yet so far. "It was just one of those things that happened or didn't happen."

And you're right. She was the one who dumped him but it's always seemed the other way around. I always got the sense that she regretted that at certain points throughout her life but more so recently, even in spite of her "over my dead body" talk of the late 90s and even now that they've supposedly made their peace.

I think she means it was either going to happen or it wasn't. It was destiny.

[jellyman10]

I always got the sense that she regretted that at certain points throughout her life but more so recently, even in spite of her "over my dead body" talk of the late 90s and even now that they've supposedly made their peace.

Yeah, it is sad that they were never really in the same phases at the same time, but I don't know if I would use the word 'regret' at her decision to leave to describe Stevie's perceived sense of sadness about the bad timing. At the end of the day, Stevie didn't leave the 'softer man' that LB has latterly become. She left a quite different kind of man and my completely speculative tuppenceworth is that she was right to do so, artistically and personally, to this day (cf. 'You May Be The One').