"Mistaken for a whore"?

[Moz]

In Bel Air Rain, there's a line I don't quite understand...

In my younger days I was mistaken for a whore
I guess you could say I lived in shame

I've never heard anyone call Lindsey a whore. Stevie, yes, but not Lindsey. So what's the deal?

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by Moz

In Bel Air Rain, there's a line I don't quite understand...

In my younger days I was mistaken for a whore
I guess you could say I lived in shame

I've never heard anyone call Lindsey a whore. Stevie, yes, but not Lindsey. So what's the deal?

To me he's saying that because FM was so commercially successful, some people didn't consider them real musicians or artists.

I just think back to what Tom Petty said about how he didn't take FM seriously because of the Rumours success, but he learned that he was wrong about them and that they are serious talents. That wasn't his first impression.

I think Lindsey is saying that he was mistaken for that era's Britney Spears, when he wasn't.

Michele

[michelej1]

This is the Petty comment I mentioned:

We didn't quite know whether to like Stevie or not, because we kind of saw this big corporate rock band, Fleetwood Mac, which was wrong, they were actually artistic people. But in those days, nobody trusted that sort of thing and we just kept thinking, 'What does she want from us?' And then, of course, she turned into one of my great, great friends forever.

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by Moz

In Bel Air Rain, there's a line I don't quite understand...

In my younger days I was mistaken for a whore
I guess you could say I lived in shame

I've never heard anyone call Lindsey a whore. Stevie, yes, but not Lindsey. So what's the deal?

It's a curious line, isn't it? Especially later when he says,

I changed my name
I went insane

What does he mean??

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

It's a curious line, isn't it? Especially later when he says,

I changed my name
I went insane

What does he mean??

he changed his name...he changed his name from "whore" to something else. Rather than selling out and making "Rumours II" like he always says...

[GoS]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

It's a curious line, isn't it? Especially later when he says,

I changed my name
I went insane

What does he mean??

I changed my name- I went solo
I wen insane- He did what he wanted (Go Insane)
But still I can't complain
Standing in the Bel-Air rain- He can't complain because he is successful and rich and fortunate, despite the fact that he is having feeling bad (the rain)

The whore- He was someone who did what he wanted, but was mistaken for someone who did things just for money.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by GoS

I changed my name- I went solo
I wen insane- He did what he wanted (Go Insane)

Yes, left his FM affiliation. I think that's what that means and, to some extent, changed the type of music he was doing as part of FM. Changed his brand.

I like the way he used both Bel Air and Rodeo Drive in his songs, as shorthand speak for success that came, but at a loss. Lost innocence, lost fulfillment, lost love. I mean, the success was aspired to and wanted -- needed, but it didn't come cheap.

Michele

[LukeA]

I love this song. I wasn't a fan at first, but it definitely grew on me. Its not as heavy handed and self-important as "Treason" (really the only weak point on this album, along with "Time Precious Time Precious Time Precious Time Precious Time"), and is far more engaging.

[Lori40]

Originally Posted by GoS

I changed my name- I went solo
I wen insane- He did what he wanted (Go Insane)
But still I can't complain
Standing in the Bel-Air rain- He can't complain because he is successful and rich and fortunate, despite the fact that he is having feeling bad (the rain)

The whore- He was someone who did what he wanted, but was mistaken for someone who did things just for money.

Bel Air Rain is my favorite song on GOS, and I totally agree with your interpretation, GoS.

[David]

Does anyone know whether Lindsey, during those penniless days in central Los Angeles, ever worked the streets as a gigolo?

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by David

Does anyone know whether Lindsey, during those penniless days in central Los Angeles, ever worked the streets as a gigolo?

Don't think so, but he might have been mistaken for one a few times...

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

It's a curious line, isn't it? Especially later when he says,

I changed my name
I went insane

What does he mean??

I guess I look at that a bit less literally/autobiographically. While he probably does literally mean, changing from Fleetwood Mac to solo (name); from pop to weird (insane), I read it -- metaphorically -- as losing his sense of himself.