Credit: Spotify

The autobiographical song Stevie Nicks admits she has “lived so many times”

Wed 19 July 2023 19:30, UK

Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks has lived an extraordinary life, one that reads like a work of fiction. When it comes to the arena of songwriting, Nicks doesn’t pull any punches and tends to opt for unflinching honesty when it comes to her scribes, adding authenticity to the words that spill out of her mouth.

When Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, her life permanently changed after being thrust into the limelight from obscurity. On the one hand, the band provided her with the keys to superstardom and helped her achieve everything she ever wanted. However, there is a personal sacrifice to her line of work that Nicks discovered the difficult way.

The life of a superstar musician isn’t normal, no matter how it’s dressed up. While it can be possible to become an ego-maniac and start believing the world revolves around oneself, waking up in a different location every day isn’t an ordinary way to live.

As Nicks’ career took off, aspects of her life were forced to take a backseat – most notably relationships. In the age before FaceTime, maintaining a healthy relationship without contact for several months was impossible for many, as the Fleetwood Mac vocalist found out.

On ‘Belle Fleur’, which appeared on her 2014 solo album 24K Karat Gold, Nicks dissects the difficulties of balancing being in love with a demanding job which comes alongside a jet-set lifestyle. Speaking to the Canadian radio show Q, she discussed the song in question and explained why it was a track close to her heart.

She revealed: “‘Belle Fleur’ was about not being able to have a relationship because you were a rock’ n’ roll star. Those women are me, [my sister] Lori … and friends I had from 1975 to 1978. The [lyric] ‘When you come to the door of the long black car’ —that’s the limousine that’s coming to take you away.”

Nicks continued: “Then your boyfriend is standing on the porch waving at you, like, ‘When are you going to be back?’ And you’re like, ‘I don’t know, maybe three months?’ But then we would add shows to a tour and I could end up not being back for six months. It was difficult for the men in my life. I lived that song so many times.”

Later in the conversation, Nicks added on the song: “The [experience] causes you to become one with the road. I’m comparing it to the witches in the mountains. That’s just my metaphor with the [lyric] ‘Mountain women live in the canyon / dancing all night long’. That’s just us coming back from shows and taking Polaroids all night long.”

While Nicks never married any of her previous partners, touring has remained a constant throughout her life, and she’s stayed in a long, committed relationship with the road.

Listen to ‘Belle Fleur’ below.