Stevie songs that connect?
 

We all know Stevie's written butt loads of songs over the years and recorded alot of them as well. Either with the Mac or solo, my question is, what songs go together? Which songs are like a 'continued' story or arc?

Is 'The Nightmare' & 'Sisters of the Moon' connected?

What songs do you think can be related?

I hope this isn't a dumb question...:eek:

Just thought it would be cool to see what your opinions are!:thumbsup:

Edge of Seventeen and Nightbird?

A lot of her lyrics connect, but maybe not the entire songs.

"When I see you again, as I always do" from Destiny Rules...

ETA: there's a LOT more but I'm at school haha.

Theme wise ~

In 1982, Stevie said that "How Still My Love" is a continuation of "Dreams".

"I Call You Missing" and "Love Is Like A River" are not the same song, even though they share many lyrics. To me, the two songs are the beginning and ending of a story. In "I Call You Missing", Stevie burns a candle every night, hoping for Joe to return. In "Love Is Like A River", she's over all that, ~ "And I haven't burned a candle in a real long time..." Mirror images that I love!

"Crying In The Night" and "Cathouse Blues" seem to be about prostitutes of some sort.

"Kind Of Woman" and "Gold Dust Woman" are about the tramps Lindsey would cheat on Stevie with, I think, in addition to cocaine, in "GDW"'s case.

"Affairs Of The Heart" and "Welcome To The Room... Sara" are about Stevie's time at the Betty Ford Center in Late 1986.

"If You Ever Did Believe"and "Beauty And The Beast" display Stevie's feelings during her affair with Mick.

There are TONS more story arcs in Stevie Land!!!!!

How about Destiny and Enchanted?

"Crying in the morning, trying to be strong/Waiting for the spring to turn into the fall/Love don't mean what it says at all/My destiny says that I'm destined to fall."

What's the connection there?

Omg I seriously love this thread already! Guys please continue.....

*pops popcorn*

Well, Stevie wrote "Destiny" in 1974, and recorded it for The Wild Heart here in Dallas in 1982. Apparently, later she re~wrote it in a faster tempo with different lyrics as "Enchanted". Definitely related. It's about some other guy she hooked up with in 1974 while "on a break" with Lindsey, as she pondered whether or not to go back to him.

I was thinking of a whole Stevie Loves Joe story arc ~

"One More Big Time Rock And Roll Star"
"Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You?"
"I Call You Missing"
"Whole Lotta Trouble"
"Long Way To Go"
"She Loves Him Still"
"Love Is Like A River"

There's the obvious Rhiannon connections~

"Rhiannon"
"The Maker Of Birds"
"Stay Away"
"Forest Of The Black Roses"
"Forsaken Love"
"Kind Of Woman" ~ Stevie said it's a "Rhiannon" continuation. :shrug:
"Sorcerer" ~ In 2001, Stevie said it's a Rhiannon song.
"Planets Of The Universe" ~ Same as above... :shrug:
"Angel" ~ In 1979, Stevie linked it to the Rhiannon songs.

Of course, only a few of these have literal connections to the Rhiannon legend. Most are really just Stevie's life apparently through a Rhiannon~filter.

BTW, I refuse to put "Blue Water" in the Rhiannon songs ~ it's about Hawaii! ;)

I always thought "Dreams" and "Sable on Blond" were companion pieces. Both open up with a Mick drum riff and they are both basically the same chords and instrumentation; you could literally sing "Dreams" over the instrumental of "SoB" and vice-versa. And they're both about achieving clarity about relationships. In "Dreams," she has a "crystal vision"- an epiphany that Lindsey wants out of the relationship, but he still wants to bang her. In "SoB," her judgment is temporarily obscured by "frost covered windows," but then after asking herself repeatedly about the failure of her relationship ("what was it that fell?"), she reaches the epiphany "well, I think that it was you, babe!" And the "Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?" and "Do you hold that dream in your hands each night?" are kind of similar- both about pent up feelings.

I think there are many songs in the Betty Ford arc- "Welcome to the Room... Sara," "When I See You Again," "Doing the Best I Can," "Alice," "Juliet." And probably a few others too. I believe it was in rehab where she had nothing but her leather-bound journals to keep her company, so it is obvious that she spent much of that time writing about her harrowing experiences. Oh, to be a fly in the wall of her room...

Continuing with the Rumours era breakup and all that drama~

"Dreams"
"Smile At You"
"Silver Springs"
"How Still My Love"

Stevie & Robin's friendship~

"Julia"
"Rock A Little"
"Impossible Task"
"Nightbird"

The sticking thing there is that both "Juliet" and "When I See You Again" were written in 1986 and recorded for Tango In The Night. Stevie specifically places "Juliet" as one of her February 1986 Tom & Bob Tour of Australia songs. But, of course, things don't have to be literal, and are interpreted however we see them. And "When I See You Again" definitely seems about rehab, when she's going on about staring at the stairs... :)

More of the Stevie Road Show 1986 songs~

"Two Kinds Of Love"
"Juliet"
"You Like Me"
"Whole Lotta Trouble"
"Don't Treat Me Like A Stranger" ~ could this be another Joe song?

Damn! I forgot "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You?" as a Joe song, too!

Broader themes ~ like Life And Love In Rock And Roll And How It Kills A Relationship ~ Or Enter Competition ~

"After The Glitter Fades"
"What Has Rock And Roll Ever Done For You?"
"Greta"
"All The King's Horses"
"The Highwayman"
"Nothing Ever Changes"
"Gold And Braid"
"Paper Doll"
"One More Big Time Rock And Roll Star"
"Thrown Down"
"Garbo"
"My Heart"

...and "What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done For You" and "One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star"

Ha - but in all seriousness, is there actually a Rhiannon connection? I love Blue Water...

Also, I'd add Gypsy to the Robin/Stevie list - and what about RAL, because of the Lily reference?

And finally, do we know when Space Needle was written? Does it belong to the Betty Ford arc?

I have always connected these, thinking of them as one long story:

Dreams>>Outside The Rain>>Sable On Blonde>>Ooh My Love>>Bombay Sapphires

Maybe In Your Dreams will have the next chapter.

"Gypsy" definitely goes with the Stevie/Robin songs!

It also belongs with the Mattress On The Floor/On My Own songs ~

"Bella Donna"
"Gypsy"
"Outside The Rain"

How about Forbidden Love or You're Not The Man For Me ~ Unrequited love?

"Secret Love"
"If You Were My Love"
"Angel"
"How Still My Love"
"Stand Back"
"I've Loved And I've Lost" ~ :laugh:

Sara-Gate and Garden

I tend to believe Gate and Garden is the latter half of Sara that was trimmed off for Tusk. :cool:

In an interview for Bella Donna Stevie said that "Bella Donna" was the continuation of "Sisters Of The Moon".

Let's hope!!!!! :):angel:

Ooh yes!!!! Stevie talked about seeing herself in a mirror and her gauntness inspiring "Sisters Of The Moon", and "Bella Donna" has the same theme. Very cool!!!!!

I always thought Dreams and The Nightmare were linked, because it seems pretty obvious. :laugh: Same with Edge of 17 and Nightbird.

Obviously Illume and Destiny Rules are linked by a common verse. I tend to think Illume (obviously about 9/11) caused Stevie to reflect on a specific failed relationship in her past that was particularly important to her, so she wrote Destiny Rules.

Downstairs the big old house is mine
Upstairs where the stars still laugh and they shine

Blue Lamp and Welcome to the Room... Sara. Anything between these two but a shared lyric?

And what about Stevie songs that relate to other people's songs, such as Stevie singing "You walk a thin line" in one of the Mirror Mirror demos which, I suppose, is a reference to Lindsey's song from Tusk. Or "I need you now, I'm broken hearted... broke down like a little girl". Could that be a reference to Bob Dylan's Just Like a Woman, "she breaks just like a little girl"?

Then there's the BB King song, Drowning in a Sea of Love (Stevie sings back up on a different song from the same album). The lyrics are "I've been down one time/And I've been down two times/But right now I'm drowning/Drowning in the sea of love". Now, is that song older than Never Going Back Again and Sara or was it inspired by them?

Okay, I'm a little off track, sorry. That's how my brain works.

Oh, I almost forgot. The Nightmare. "So about the MOON and her SISTERS... and "So I stood with you against the STORM and I tried once again, I said I'D LIKE TO LEAVE YOU WITH SOMETHING WARM how many times. DROWNING IN A SEA... baby, drowning. "

It's pretty obvious that SOTM is all about Tusk.

And I Sing For The Things is about Fleetwood Mac where she sings she's living on DREAMS and CHAINS.

Quite literally!

Coincidental, probably (especially given the writing timeline).. but it amuses me none the less (taking into account the lyrical changes from the older GB/The Tower stuff)...


"Once you said goodbye to me, now I say goodbye to you."
"And I who never, never said goodbye.."

Interestingly, Stevie said in Atlanta last week that "Sorcerer" was written before she and Lindsey moved to LA (or around the same time), so it actually predates "Rhiannon", which she says she wrote in Aspen in 1973...it also screws up her prior explanation in which she stated it was written and about being dropped by the label after BN bombed... :shrug:

Ok, I know years ago she equated "Gypsy" with Robin, but it is not technically a Robin song. She wrote it before Robin died or became ill, but it was the single at the time of Robin's death. Stevie finally gave the story behind "Gypsy" on the last FM tour, explaining it was a song recapturing 1969 when she and Lindsey lived in a house in Los Gatos and had no furniture, therefore sleeping on the mattress on the floor.

The Greyhound strike was in '74, so if she wrote Rhiannon the same time she wrote Landslide, then that would have been 1974, no? Unless I'm mixing up stories (which is very possible).

*LMAO*

Stevie likes to give simple meanings behind her songs but theres more to them than she lets on. Like 'Edge of 17', there has to be more than her cousin & John Lennon to that song. Was her cousin almost 17 at the time?

Thank you - you just confirmed what I was thinking! She's getting the year mixed up, I think because according to her story, 6 months after the Aspen trip Fleetwood Mac called. That was New Year's Eve, 1974. BN was released in September of 1973 and I think they were dropped in '74. Based on your information about the strike they were in Aspen in 1974, which makes sense because Lindsey took the gig with Phil Everly after BN bombed. So, she wrote "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" in 1974.

*Side note: I wonder if the house she wrote the songs in was Warren Zevon's in-laws. Check out this quote from Warren about his song "Mohammed's Radio": "I wrote it on the piano in my ex-in-laws' house in Aspen. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were there - it's a longish story - and they started singing harmony. It's like a gospel song."

LOL!!! Don't get me started on Edge...

But, it was her cousin, John's father - her Uncle Bill that she claims that about. Again, I'm sure it was around his death. Do not believe that song is about John Lennon or her uncle's death... she may tie it into that but I think the true topic is pretty obvious.

You probably could add "Sweet Girl" to this list. To me, it's pretty much lyrically anyway, a "part 2" of "Gold & Braid".

Actually, I think that was her uncle. Stevie and her cousin were the only ones there when her uncle died... I think that was the basic situation?

Well, personally, I've always associated "He was no more... than a baby then /Well he... seemed broken hearted... / Something within him / But the moment... that I first laid... / Eyes... on... him... all alone... /On the edge of... seventeen" with Stevie first meeting Lindsey. That's just what it sounds like to me :/

But really this song is kind of cryptic in my opinion. You can attribute the 'And I see you doing what I try to do for me / With the words of a poet... (etc)" to John Lennon, I think, as well as the 'Well I went searching for an answer, up the stairs and down the hall... (etc)" (that whole sphiel) to when her uncle died.

"The clouds never expect it, when it rains.. (etc)" is again, just a broader statement regarding changes, life, death, etc inspired by John and her uncle.

Then the end, "Well, I hear you in the morning, and I hear you in the night fall"... could be interpreted many ways, but personally I think it is a continuation of the first verse (especially the 'I'm a few years older than you, my love), bringing it all full circle.

EDIT: Also, seems a lot of people think that this is really about losing her virginity, or some variation of that theme. I can totally totally see that, and to be honest, if you're just looking at the song it makes a lot more logical sense. However, above, I'm trying to take what Stevie says into account at least somewhat, but I definitely don't think that's all there is to the song. Like I said, to say the song is COMPLETELY about John Lennon/her uncle is kind of ludicrous, if not a bit creepy.

EXACTLY. It's obviously about Lindsey, it fits totally into their story. I agree with the virginity and/or variation on the theme - if not her then him! I think there's more going on in the song too, but I think whatever that is, it is only about something going on in their relationship and that the John Lennon/Uncle Bill connection she makes is strictly about the timing of the recording/release - and that none of the lyrics have one iota to do with them.

Yeah. I mean, of course it's all speculation, but pretty much all of the lyrics DO fit Lindsey, if you just ignore the Lennon/Uncle notion.

"And I see you doing what I try to do for me
With the words of a poet
And the voice of a choir
And a melody, and nothing else mattered"

---> Lindsey 'taking her songs and making them great,' as Stevie puts it. Or, could even continuing with the first verse - she sees him in the middle of the room playing guitar and singing, like she tries to do, and she just walks up and joins him like nothing else matters. (As I mentioned in my above post, this could just as easily be about Lennon and her admiring his music and what not. just for the sake of discussion!)


Also, I can't even believe that even having heard the virginity theory, I never related it to this line of the song: "Ooh, baby ooh, said ooh." :lol:

Absolutely! Great call!

There are so many about the rock and roll woman while her heart breaks... :(

"I want to fly through the world in a golden ball!"

Not to mention she got the idea from Tom Petty's wife.

Do you all remember CD long boxes? They were roughly the size of half an LP and were sort of created to ease the transition from album to CD, mostly with the record stores who all had to get new shelving. Anyway, I could swear the long box for Belladonna had something on the back about Edge being about Stevie losing her virginity. And for years I took that as gospel because it was printed right there on the CD box. Even when Timespace came out and Stevie said it was about her uncle, I thought she was backpedaling and trying to cover up revealing the true meaning of a song that might have been too personal. I know better now. Looking back I think they sometimes stuck blurbs taken from magazines of record reviews on the boxes just to fill space, or had some hack write a review to get you to buy the CD. Does anyone still have this? I threw mine away years ago.

I thought she once said it was about returning home from the Tusk tour and staying in a small room in someone's house...and she decorated it with "paper lace and flowers"....thus going back to the "gypsy that I was" prior to fame and fortune.

LOL! Right! And, the wail after she says she went forward with an age old desire to please... ;)

Ha! I dare Lindsey one time to say he met Stevie when he was on the "edge of 17"... :lol:

Never heard anything about the Tusk tour, but wasn't that around the time it was written? I remember her saying when she wrote it she was going through the whole struggle with fame thing and put her mattresses on the floor to remember what it was like before that happened...so yeah that would make sense too.