‘Dreams’: The Fleetwood Mac hit but the world’s least-popular wedding track
It’s true that nothing will get you booted off a guest list quicker or make you public enemy number one among your family and friends more than judging what people do at their weddings, so we have to tread lightly here. But even with that said, you have to admit that some of the choices people make surrounding what is meant to be the most perfect day of their lives are truly mind-bending. Take music for one, and the all-important first dance: would you believe one of the most popular tunes is a Fleetwood Mac song about, of all things, divorce?
If you’ve ever been to a wedding—or, God forbid, been the one getting married—where ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac has been the tune of choice and thought little more of it, then unfortunately, you too have become the latest victim to be cast under Stevie Nicks’s witchy spell. As popular as it may be, it is probably one of the least appropriate wedding songs of all time, the reasons for which being plenty.
Admit it—have you actually listened to the words, or does the swooning melody just suck you in? You may be hanging your head in shame right now, but you can rest assured that you will not be alone in your embarrassment. Millions across the world have likely swayed along to ‘Dreams’ on the dancefloor, thinking it was full of fantasy romance, but the truth is very much the exact opposite.
Even from the song’s opening, the notes are decidedly not one of holy matrimony. “Now here you go again/ You say you want your freedom/ Well, who am I to keep you down?” doesn’t exactly scream ‘together forever’, does it? Yet many will choose this as the overtures to their everlasting love—though perhaps unintentionally as an omen for darker clouds to come.
For the avoidance of doubt, nobody is claiming ‘Dreams’ is a bad song—in fact, far from it—but in many ways, it’s better suited as a breakup ballad than a proclamation of undying love, especially given the real-life context behind it. Famously hailing from the Rumours album, it has all the markers of destruction and heartbreak that a wedding really shouldn’t have, coming from a band in a place of complete turmoil.
‘Dreams’ was penned by Nicks on account of the fraught romantic state of affairs plaguing each member of Fleetwood Mac at the time—Mick Fleetwood filing for divorce, John and Christine McVie going their separate ways, and the notorious sparring between the writer and her lover-turned-enemy Lindsey Buckingham, which reached its peak during the recording for Rumours. It’s fair to say things weren’t exactly rosy. As a result, ‘Dreams’ was really the melancholic anthem of deceit, betrayal, and ultimate loneliness.
If you’re a Fleetwood Mac diehard, it’s admittedly easy to be blinded by your favourite song, associating it with a core memory of your relationship or cherishing a shared love. That’s all very well, but if you’re planning a wedding any time soon, just cut your losses when it comes to playing ‘Dreams’ – it’s just not a good look because dreamy as it may be in sound, it definitely isn’t in sentiment.
