“The melody of those sentences”: The Jackson Browne song Stevie Nicks calls a favourite
Many people long for someone to write a song about them, but Stevie Nicks doesn’t have to. She has doubled as muse and musician, penning soft rock songs about her relationships with fellow artists for Fleetwood Mac and spawning some of the band’s signature hits in the process. In turn, the subjects of her songs and her affections have written many of their own compositions inspired by Nicks, immortalising their love in the recording booth.
Perhaps the most obvious artist to see Nicks as a muse was Lindsey Buckingham. The pair shared the stage and the studio long before they became a part of Fleetwood Mac, embarking on a romantic and creative relationship in the early 1970s. Their relationship began to break down during their time with Fleetwood Mac, leading Rumours, in particular, to be influenced by their love and lack thereof.
Buckingham penned ‘Go Your Own Way’ and ‘What Makes You Think You’re the One’ about his Fleetwood Mac bandmate, filling his lyrics with the bitterness of a breakup. But Buckingham isn’t the only songwriter who has taken inspiration from Nicks. A number of other artists have penned songs about the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman, including Don Henley and Tom Petty.
Nicks could make an entire playlist out of songs penned just for her, but there is one song that wouldn’t make the cut, much to her disappointment. Nicks has often shared her admiration for Jackson Browne in interviews, acknowledging how his love songs influenced her own. There is one Browne song, in particular, that Nicks considers a particular favourite: ‘That Girl Could Sing’ from 1980.
The track opens with a bright piano and a subtle bassline, while Browne declares, “She was a friend to me when I needed one, wasn’t for her I don’t know what I’d done…” His lyrics are full of love and gratitude for their subject, crediting her with making him whole again and praising her talent for singing. “She wasn’t much good at sticking around,” he sings, “but she could sing.”
During a conversation with Forbes, Nicks described the track as “one of [her] favourite songs” and admitted that she wanted to be the subject of the song. “I always wanted to think that, even though I didn’t know Jackson Browne at that point, that he wrote that about me,” she stated, “Because, ‘Oh, I’m such a cool presence.’”
“And when you take, ‘She was a friend to me when I needed one,’” she continued, “And you remember those sentences and even the melody of those sentences.” The melody of the track certainly was memorable, while the lyrics were gorgeously chosen, full of beautiful imagery and passion. It’s no surprise that Nicks wanted to think that it was written about her.
Although the song wasn’t inspired by Nicks, she could have easily slotted into the track. She certainly could sing, and she’d occasionally slip through your arms like the wind. The real subject of Browne’s love song has never been confirmed, though names like Linda Ronstadt and Valerie Carter have been thrown around in conversations about the track.
Nicks might not be able to take credit for inspiring ‘That Girl Could Sing’, but she does still have a slew of songs she can claim to be the muse for.
