The “Charming” Stevie Nicks Song That Lindsey Buckingham Absolutely Adored

As their career developed, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham weren’t on the best of terms. By the time Fleetwood Mac was in their heyday, the pair was broken up, and all of their frustration was imbued into their songwriting. But there was a time when the pair was as tight-knit as musical partners could be. One of Buckingham’s favorite Nicks songs comes from that time. Learn more about the Nicks’ song her former partner adored below.

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The Stevie Nicks Song That Lindsey Buckingham Adored

In my life
There’s been a few things worth singing
‘Bout you
Well, I never even dreamed
That I’d know you
Strange are the ways
Of a very complicated world
And there you are

“Without You” was written around the release of the pair’s elusive Buckingham Nicks album. Though it isn’t as well known as their efforts with Fleetwood Mac, this track remains a favorite of Buckingham’s. To hear Nicks tell it, Buckingham loved the idea behind the song so much that he let Nicks wax poetic for far longer than songs usually allow. He was, according to her, uncharacteristically unbridled.

“Every night I tell the story of ‘Without You,’ the poem that I wrote in 1972 before we made the Buckingham Nicks album,” Nicks once said. “The story has become longer than the song, and I told Lindsey, ‘I’m sorry, I’m trying to shorten it.’ He goes, ‘Don’t worry, Stevie – it’s charming.’ Three years ago he would have been like, ‘Are you kidding? We could do The Green Manalishi in that time…’”

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The song centers around their love for one another. Unlike their Rumours cuts, this track is gushing and romantic. Long gone are the cutting insults to one another. In their place are sweet sentiments.

“It was a beautiful time,” Nicks continued elsewhere. “And it was when we were really young and beautiful and in love.”

Revisit “Without You,” below.

Come to me now
And I’ll never know another
You are song for me, melody
Ingrained in my soul
Sing, sing your song
For my ears, they only hear you
If I never knew the likes of you
Where would I be without you?
Without you, yeah

If I’d not heard your laughter
Maybe I wouldn’t love you
If I’d not sung your music
If I’d not come rolling after you

(Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)