There have been many theories over the years about who the Eagles wrote “Witchy Woman” about. While the pervasive idea is that Stevie Nicks inspired the track with her witchy persona, it was actually another icon of the art world. Find out who the Eagles wrote this famed track about, below.
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Who Did The Eagles Write “Witchy Woman” About?
Raven hair and ruby lips
Sparks fly from her fingertips
Echoed voices in the night
She’s a restless spirit on an endless flight
The Eagles paint a distinct portrait in “Witchy Woman.” This mesmerizing track nearly reads like a spell, with its meandering melody and haunting instrumentation. Because of Nicks’ reputation and her romantic entanglements with members of the Eagles, many fans have attributed this song to her. In actuality, the songwriters sought literary inspiration in Zelda Fitzgerald.
Woo-hoo, witchy woman
See how high she flies
Woo-hoo, witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye
The wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda struggled with mental health later in life. The lyrics about crazy laughter and being driven to madness speak to her experience seeking medical help.
“F. Scott Fitzgerald’s troubled wife, Zelda, who, in her thirties and forties, drifted in and out of psychiatric hospitals suffering from schizophrenia (or more likely, bipolar disorder), while her husband’s health and career spiraled downward, due to his abuse of alcohol,” Don Henley once explained.
She held me spellbound in the night (woo-ooh)
Dancing shadows and firelight
Crazy laughter in another room (woo-ooh)
And she drove herself to madness with a silver spoon
Fitzgerald’s story is combined with that of a girl Henley once knew personally.
“Another inspiration for the song was the roommate of a girl I was seeing in the early 1970s,” he continued. “All things occult were popular in those days. Ouija boards, séances, palm reading, etc. A lot of the girls were into what was called ‘white witchcraft,’ that is, they were practitioners of folk magic for benevolent purposes, as distinguished from malevolent witchcraft or black magic.”
Regardless of the inspirations behind this song, it works on multiple levels. Listening to “Witchy Woman” instantly calls to mind any woman who seems shrouded in mystery in an oh-so-compelling way. Revisit this track, below.
Woo-hoo, witchy woman
See how high she flies
Woo-hoo, witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye
(Photo by Kevin Kane/Getty Images for Scoop Marketing)
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