The drama that inspired one of the biggest-selling albums of all time seemed to swirl around Fleetwood Mac continuously. Early lineup changes were constant. Session musician Christine Perfect married bassist John McVie. Guitarist Bob Weston had an affair with drummer Mick Fleetwood’s wife and was fired. Lindsey Buckingham was approached about replacing him. Buckingham would accept the position on the condition his girlfriend Stevie Nicks could also join.
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The new lineup had the biggest success for the band by far with their self-titled album in 1975. But soon Buckingham and Nicks split apart, and the McVies were also breaking up. They all agreed to continue professionally with the band, leading to Rumours, their mammoth-selling album from 1977.
Now, listening to these emotionally raw songs in that context adds another layer of heaviness to the situation. Nicks and Fleetwood would go on to have an affair while the band was on tour. It was all very messy…but it sure made for some great songs.
1. “Go Your Own Way” from Rumours, written by Lindsey Buckingham
The first American Top 10 single for Fleetwood Mac, this was the first song Buckingham presented to the band for the album that would become Rumours. The song was a direct reaction to his breakup with Nicks.
Nicks shared her feelings about the line, packing up, shacking up is all you wanna do with Rolling Stone: “I very much resented him telling the world that ‘packing up, shacking up’ with different men was all I wanted to do. He knew it wasn’t true. It was just an angry thing that he said. Every time those words would come onstage, I wanted to go over and kill him. He knew it, so he really pushed my buttons through that. It was like, ‘I’ll make you suffer for leaving me.’ And I did.”
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up is all you want to do
2. “Dreams” from Rumours, written by Stevie Nicks
The biggest hit of Fleetwood Mac’s career, this simple song was a response from Nicks to Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way.” Nicks told The Daily Mail, “I walked in and handed a cassette of the song to Lindsey. It was a rough take, just me singing solo and playing piano. Even though he was mad with me at the time, Lindsey played it and then looked up at me and smiled. What was going on between us was sad. We were couples who couldn’t make it through. But, as musicians, we still respected each other—and we got some brilliant songs out of it.”
Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost
And what you had
Oh, what you lost
Thunder only happens when it’s raining
Players only love you when they’re playing
Women, they will come, and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know
[RELATED: All the Songs on Fleetwood Mac’s Classic Rock Album ‘Rumours’ Ranked]
3. “The Chain” from Rumours, written by Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Stevie Nicks
This is the only Fleetwood Mac song credited to all five members of the Rumours-era lineup. The song came from multiple elements spliced together. So much turmoil was happening during recording; the only instance of two parts happening simultaneously was in the guitar solo of “The Chain.” Buckingham’s guitar and Fleetwood’s drums were captured at the same time. Nicks wrote and recorded lyrics about the crumbling relationship, and Buckingham added his vocals.
Listen to the wind blow, down comes the night
Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies
Break the silence, damn the dark, damn the light
And if you don’t love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain (never break the chain)
4. “What Makes You Think You’re the One?” from Tusk, written by Lindsey Buckingham
After Rumours, Buckingham and Nicks were still taking shots at each other. Buckingham sent this volley.
What makes you think I’m the one
Who’ll be there when you’re callin’?
What makes you think I’m the one
Who will catch you when you’re fallin’?
Every little bit is there to see
Every little bit of you and me
“Sara” from Tusk, written by Stevie Nicks
To make things even more messy, Nicks and Fleetwood started seeing each other while on tour in Australia. Nicks wrote “Sara,” in part, about Sara Recor. Fleetwood would eventually marry Recor.
“I remember the night I wrote it,” Nicks shared on The Tommy Vance Show. “I sat up with a very good friend of mine whose name is Sara, who was married to Mick Fleetwood. She likes to think it’s completely about her, but it’s really not completely about her. It’s about me, about her, about Mick, about Fleetwood Mac. It’s about all of us at that point.”
In the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
But now it’s gone
They say it doesn’t matter anymore
If you build your house
Then please, call me home
Sara
You’re the poet in my heart
Never change, and don’t you ever stop
Now it’s gone
No, it doesn’t matter anymore
When you build your house
I’ll come by
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