The Stevie Nicks’ Song Nixed From Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Tusk,’ Her Solo Debut ‘Bella Donna,’ Then Released More Than 30 Years Later

After the whirlwind of their 1977 album Rumours, Fleetwood Mac went back to the studio to work on their twelfth album, and third with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, Tusk. Both already had a track record of song contributions by then, and Tusk was no different, including Nick’s hit “Sara” and Buckingham’s title track, which both hit the top 10.

During the Tusk sessions, Nicks also introduced a song she had written, “The Dealer,” which received a lukewarm response from the band, particularly Buckingham, and was given less attention than other tracks before eventually getting cut from the album.

Once released, Tusk didn’t hit the same mark as Rumours, but did peak at No. 4 and remains Fleetwood Mac’s most experimental album.

“For me, being sort of the culprit behind that particular album, it was done in a way to undermine just sort of following the formula of doing ‘Rumours 2’ and ‘Rumours 3,’ which is kind of the business model Warner Bros. would have liked us to follow,” said Buckingham of the band’s more experimental sound on Tusk.

“We really were poised to make ‘Rumours 2,’ and that could’ve been the beginning of kind of painting yourself into a corner in terms of living up to the labels that were being placed on you as a band,’ added Buckingham. “You know, there have been several occasions during the course of Fleetwood Mac over the years where we’ve had to undermine whatever the business axioms might be to sort of keep aspiring as artists in the long term, and the Tusk album was one of those times.” 

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[RELATED: The Song Stevie Nicks Wrote in 1975 But Never Shared With Fleetwood Mac]

‘I was the mistress of my fate.’

Years later, Nicks revisited “The Dealer” for her 1981 solo debut, Bella Donna, but the song met a similar fate before getting shelved for more than three decades. After coming across a bootleg of the song, Nicks was inspired to rerecord it for her 2014 album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault, a collection of previously unreleased tracks she had written throughout the decades.

In her lyrics, Nicks recalls a forgotten love and past mistakes, and finds peace with both.

It was my fault, my move, my game
If I’d known a little more, I’d a run away
It was dark out, and I held the cards
I was the dealer, and it wasn’t hard

I was the mistress of my fate
I was a card shark
If I’d looked a little ahead
I’d run away
I was the mistress of my fate
I gave it all out
If I’d really known you then
You’d a had to watch out

“The Dealer” never charted in the U.S., but it did become a moderate hit in Belgium, peaking at No. 72.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images