Article: Stevie On Her Favourite Songs ("Mick told Lindsey..")

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by wondergirl9847

I could have SWORN that Stevie mentioned in some article that the "if you build your house, I'll come by..." was about Henley building a house. Anyone else remember reading that somewhere?

Don said that line was about him building his house first. Then, Us Magazine asked Stevie if it was true and Stevie said: "That is true. He did. And I was in it before he finished it."

Michele

[wondergirl9847]

So, it's true that she was in his house or that the song was written about him? LOL

[skcin]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

She has consistently said "Sara" is about more than one thing. I think people do not listen to what she actually says. Then, they call her inconsistent, contradictory, etc.

Oh no, I think people do listen to her - and she does say different things each time. It's true - she SEEMS to contradict herself with her varied stories. She's never before said "there are parts of songs that are totally made up, and have nothing to do with the story" that I've ever read. Now that she's specifically spelled it out for dummies like me, it makes total sense.

Like, just because she's said Sara is about Mick doesn't mean it's all about Mick, or all about Don, or all about anyone - parts are about this person, parts are about others, parts are total fiction. But some of us jump to the conclusion of "she said it's about Mick, she said it in 3 interviews!" We're so hungry for info about her songs, probably cuz many of them don't make much literal sense, that when we get any info about them we kind of tuck it away like the mystery has been solved.

Gypsy is a good example of this for me - I had ALWAYS heard that it was for/about Robin. Never once do I recall hearing the "before we made it, back when we were poor" story before this tour. That's not to say that it wasn't patially about Robin, but until she explained it, I was rolling my eyes at the new story going "OK, since when Stevie?"

[strandinthewind]

^

She has repeatedly said since 1982 that gypsy was about putting her bed on the floor, etc.

[Regina]

Was she calling Mick a gorgeous rock star?
Cause, well...never mind.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by wondergirl9847

So, it's true that she was in his house or that the song was written about him? LOL

I think it's true that Don was building a house and she was in it before he was finished. I really don't think she's ever said it was true that the song was about him. She has always said it was about everyone.

When it came out she said:

There are many men involved in Sara. Mick is involved in Sara because he's a dear, deep friend of mine. There's another songwriter that's involved in it. There's maybe three or four men and then there's my friend Sara. There's so much in Sara and it is the poet in my heart.

Sara is sort of the life and times of Fleetwood Mac during Tusk. Sara is sort of what happened in the beginning of the recording of Tusk to the end. I do have a girlfriend whose name is Sara and is very sweet who would like to think that Sara is about her, but knowing that it's not, she just tells everybody this when I'm not around. It's about Fleetwood Mac. I'm Sara, Mick is Sara, Lindsey is Sara, Chris is Sara, John is Sara, Sara is Sara. I just use that name to tell what happens in Sara and you have to realize that there is another sixteen minutes of Sara that you haven't heard.

Now, I do think Don was right in the fetus direction he steered us for the "when there's a heart beat it never really dies" part. This tour, I've actually seen Stevie patting her abdomen for the heartbeat line.

Michele

[Spikey]

Man, you guys are lucky- The Ledge is blocked from work for me!


"Oh Daddy"- I'm curious, but not eager, to see what Stevie would do with it (to it?). I don't think it would suit her vocal style well.

Surely, you jest. That song is sacred and should never be touched by Gypsy Hands. Although, Stevie did kick ass on the harmonies that are displayed on the Rumors Reissue version....BUT NO LEAD VOCAL.

As for it being sacred- what about "Say You Love Me", is it sacred and not allowed in 'gypsy hands'?

Quote:
So the moral is, Don’t go out with a gorgeous rock star who goes on the road, just don’t! Because it will never, ever work out."

Um, okay, I won't.

Who said Stevie doesn't relate to her fans?

Like, just because she's said Sara is about Mick doesn't mean it's all about Mick, or all about Don, or all about anyone - parts are about this person, parts are about others, parts are total fiction. But some of us jump to the conclusion of "she said it's about Mick, she said it in 3 interviews!" We're so hungry for info about her songs, probably cuz many of them don't make much literal sense, that when we get any info about them we kind of tuck it away like the mystery has been solved.

I really like this comment. I think it sums up the collective FM fan consciousness pretty well.

It also makes me think, given what we now know about Sara, what that 'complete' version would have been like. Or if it exists.

Was she calling Mick a gorgeous rock star?
Cause, well...never mind.

You don't think Mick "Two Sticks And A Drum" Fleetwood is gorgeous?

- Spike

[StreetAngel86]

Originally Posted by TrueFaith77

When I hear the song, I hate to say it, but I always think of Lindsey as the Beast.

same.
stevie always goes on about who is really the beast etc, implicating herself.
so i've always thought she was the beast to Lindsey


Stevie tackling Oh Daddy... hmmmm
tis my fave CMcV song too, along with Isn't it Midnight
but i'd love to see her try it
if she can't do it, that's ok
CMcV will be so enraged, she flies on the first plane outta england
and joins the tour JUST for that song

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by StreetAngel86

same.
stevie always goes on about who is really the beast etc, implicating herself.
so i've always thought she was the beast to Lindsey

When she was on drugs that probably was true.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

^

She has repeatedly said since 1982 that gypsy was about putting her bed on the floor, etc.

It rings a bell, but I don't remember the whole "pretending to be poor" part or that she wrote it in the early 70's. I guess I must have blocked it out completely cuz I liked the Robin story better.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by skcin

It rings a bell, but I don't remember the whole "pretending to be poor" part or that she wrote it in the early 70's. I guess I must have blocked it out completely cuz I liked the Robin story better.

I'm pretty sure she didn't say it was written in the seventies before, because I recall her pointing out that it was written when Robin was succumbing to leukemia.

But yeah, she was always all about the bed on the floor. San Francisco, etc.

Michele

[strandinthewind]

I think La Nicks looks at it like this - Robin was her friend before and after the fame. Robin was around during all that time. Stevie said that when she said that Robin was the one that knew the real Stevie, i.e. the one who put her bed on the floor, etc. So, Robin is, in a sense, part of the whole song. She is the one that can relate to La Nicks seeing her former innocent self dancing away from the star now - Robin is the one who had the memory that was left. Then, Robin dies and her (Stevie's) memory is all that is left of her (Robin and La Nicks' innocent self) now.

I think there is more in there, but that is my take on this one part.

Note - SOTM has this same Stevie as the normal person talking to Stevie the star kind of thing.

Finally, the words of Gypsy were, like most of her songs, likely taken from a number of unrelated journal entries written over a period of time that likely stretched into the 70's. In other words, the poem "Gypsy' likely was not written in her journals in one sitting. Rather, La Nicks likely went through her journals and pulled lines from things and assembled the poem, as she says she does to create most of her songs, to create the theme of the song. So, it is possible and rather likely that some of the lines do come from the 70's and were written then - it also is likely that while the final lines go together to meet the theme of the poem, their original meaning in the actual, likely unrelated, journal entries was different. Then, the "bright eyes" line was written later, but it connotes innocence and the death of it, which is the general theme of the song. I also think that the period of time of Robin's sickness and the realization that she would die was the spark that caused La Nicks to complete writing this song with the added lines. I think La Nicks saw this sad event as the end of an era, the loss of a part of her innocence, etc. So, the song is very much inspired by and written about Robin and La Nicks' relationship with Robin.

On edit - this is why she says that "line was about" this. And then says the song is about that.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I also think that Robin's dying was the spark that caused La Nicks to complete writing this song with the added lines. So, the song is very much inspired by and written about Robin and La Nicks' relationship with Robin.

Robin didn't die until October(?) 1982, which was about six months after Mirage was released, so there is no way that the "bright eyes" lines were written about her. In fact, I don't think any of it is about her. I assume that "Gypsy" is pretty much what Stevie has been telling us it is about in recent concerts- the desire to get back to her commune-living hippie slacker self after immense stardom, the stardom that was as improbable as lightning striking. "I still see your bright eyes," I think, refers to that remnant of her inner wide-eyed child- all that remains of her humble innocence. Ultimately it all comes down to her- she could either be a royal PITA high-flying narcicisstic bitch rock star, or she could stay grounded and remember the values of the life that she left behind. In hindsight, the death of ones own innocence could be compared to the death of a best friend, so perhaps that's where she took creative license regarding the song's true provenance.

[skcin]

^ I think she just said she wrote the "bright eyes" line when she found out Robin was sick, not when she died. SHE SAID IT SO IT MUST BE TRUE DAMMIT!

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I think La Nicks looks at it like this - Robin was her friend before and after the fame. Robin was around during all that time. Stevie said that when she said that Robin was the one that knew the real Stevie, i.e. the one who put her bed on the floor, etc. So, Robin is, in a sense, part of the whole song. She is the one that can relate to La Nicks seeing her former innocent self dancing away from the star now - Robin is the one who had the memory that was left. Then, Robin dies and her (Stevie's) memory is all that is left of her (Robin and La Nicks' innocent self) now.

I think there is more in there, but that is my take on this one part.

Note - SOTM has this same Stevie as the normal person talking to Stevie the star kind of thing.

Finally, the words of Gypsy were, like most of her songs, likely taken from a number of unrelated journal entries written over a period of time that likely stretched into the 70's. In other words, the poem "Gypsy' likely was not written in her journals in one sitting. Rather, La Nicks likely went through her journals and pulled lines from things and assembled the poem, as she says she does to create most of her songs, to create the theme of the song. So, it is possible and rather likely that some of the lines do come from the 70's and were written then - it also is likely that while the final lines go together to meet the theme of the poem, their original meaning in the actual, likely unrelated, journal entries was different. Then, the "bright eyes" line was written later, but it connotes innocence and the death of it, which is the general theme of the song. I also think that the period of time of Robin's sickness and the realization that she would die was the spark that caused La Nicks to complete writing this song with the added lines. I think La Nicks saw this sad event as the end of an era, the loss of a part of her innocence, etc. So, the song is very much inspired by and written about Robin and La Nicks' relationship with Robin.

On edit - this is why she says that "line was about" this. And then says the song is about that.

I don't recall asking you for your interpretation of Gypsy.

[strandinthewind]

I do not think it was Robin's actual death, but the process of dying that inspired those lines. I also think it is entirely possible that the line "I still see your bright eyes" was written before then about something else. Then, when La Nicks was writing the song Gypsy, she pulled that line to work in the poem, thus changing its prior meaning.