Fleetwood Mac All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track

[David]

One thing they teach you in grad school in the lit department is never to trust what the author says about a poem afterward. It may be true . . . or not. It may be partially true. It may be deliberately misleading. May be the result of a faulty memory. May be just a public troll or a droll sense of humor at work.

Saying that a song is “about” Mick or John or someone else pigeonholes it artificially. There are some songs that I think are truly about one person and one emotion — “Go Your Own Way” is an example. But “Oh Daddy” and Mick? Come on, read the words again.

Why would Chris tell Mick that she’s been a fool? Or that his smile soothes her? Why would Mick make Chris cry? Why is Mick always right whereas Chris is always wrong?

The idea that it’s Chris talking to Mick is ludicrous. Chris only said it’s about Mick — she never said that it’s Chris and Mick. If it’s directed at Mick, then it’s someone else doing the talking, maybe Jenny. Maybe Mick’s sister. I think it’s a saga of the breakup of Mick and Jenny. Chris is merely stepping into another’s shoes to create a romantic story with a sad ending.

As for “Sugar Daddy,” what makes anyone think it’s strictly autobiographical, too? “Sugar daddy” means an old man with money who showers his “sugar baby” with furs and jewelry. If Chris is doing the talking, she’s just saying that she’s a practical woman but also a woman who’s still in love with her hubby. “I want an old geezer on the side to wrap me in luxury, but I don’t need the old fart to be anything else but a gift card because you’re all the love I need.”

It’s really a cute way of saying “I love you.” It’s very Chris, almost like a traditional blues lyric, sensual, very British, too.

But if she’s not doing the talking, then she’s painting a nonautobiographical picture — maybe other people she knew or heard about.