Rock Star Romance: Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham

'Til the Sound of My Voice will Haunt You

By Misty Thomas
QuailBellMagazine.com

Everyone loves a good love story, right? Boy meets girl, girl falls head over heels for boy who is a musician and drop dead gorgeous. Then they join a band, write songs for one another, and slowly all of their relationships come undone.

During my teenage years, I became obsessed with a story much like this one, the story of Fleetwood Mac, rather, the story of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. I would eat, sleep, and drink this story. They wrote songs and entire albums for one another. Lindsey all but worshiped the ground that Stevie walked on. The way their voices sound together, the way they looked at each other while they were on stage together.  I wanted so much to be the Stevie Nick’s to my teenage crush. I suppose it was the hunch that if a musician wrote a song for you, it would change your life forever. That's the kind of hope Fleetwood Mac gave me.

My obsession with the band Fleetwood Mac began at a very early age. As a small child, I remember my grandmother quoting and singing the lyrics to “Don’t Stop."  For those of you that may not quite be old enough to have a firm grasp on the classic rock band, they were a very popular band that came out in the late 60’s. For those of you unfamiliar with the song, there lyrics push the ultimate positivity of tomorrow and what the new day holds:

“If you wake up and don't want to smile/if it takes just a little while, open your eyes and look at the day/you'll see things in a different way./Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,/don't stop, it'll soon be here,/it'll be better than before,/yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.” 

Any time that I would have a terrible day (and back in middle school, a terrible day consisted of not getting selected for the kickball team or blowing a solo in chorus class), my grandmother would quote these lyrics and in all of my years, any bad day is always an excuse to use them. And then she and VH1's "Behind the Music" taught me more about the band.

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Fleetwood Mac was made up Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, and Stevie Nicks. As you can probably guess, the name came from combining Mick Fleetwood’s last name and the McVie’s.  

Stevie Nicks met Lindsey Buckingham in high school. She heard him playing guitar and singing at a party, so she decided to join him. This was the moment that their relationship has been said to have begun. They were actually in a few bands together before joining Fleetwood Mac. Their presence on stage and their collaborations on songs and music were impeccable.  They were pretty much inseparable for years, writing and singing together until they were finally discovered and joined Fleetwood Mac.

When Lindsey and Stevie were writing, the lyrics and music just flowed. Anyone that has listened to any of their albums can clearly hear that. This is where my personal obsession comes in. The two of them had an on again, off again relationship that spawned many of their most popular and famous songs. 

Once while they were in Colorado, Stevie wrote the lyrics to “Landslide” in her journal while waiting for Lindsey. When the two of them split up for good, Lindsey wrote “Go Your Own Way” for Stevie. In many interviews, Stevie recalls how horrible she felt when they had to perform the song together. 

When you listen to the lyrics of the songs that they wrote for one another, it was clear that Buckingham wanted a lot more than Nicks. Nicks has done many interviews sharing her thoughts on their relationship. Nicks, who ended their relationship, was quoted in saying, “We tangle a lot, but we love each other. We'll always love each other. He and I will never get away from the fact that we were as one for so many years.” Stevie even insisted in interviews that had things gone differently and she had not ended their relationship, they would have gotten married and started a family and would have continued to be a musical family.

Stevie wrote song after song for Lindsey, even after they separated. One of the most popular songs about their relationship, “Silver Springs.” When they performed it at a concert for the album, The Dance, in 1997, it was evident that there were still some feelings lingering between them. In the song's soul crushing lyrics, Stevie sings, "Time casts a spell on you, but you won't forget me,/ I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me./ I'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice will haunt you. /Was I such a fool? You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you." Watching Nicks sing “Silver Springs” to Buckingham is chilling. The looks that she gives him during the song is bittersweet. 

This rock 'n roll love story is one of my great obsessions. It is a love story like no other and every time that I even listen to Fleetwood Mac's songs, and even as I write this, I get chills. Not all rock 'n roll love stories work out for the best. The trials and tribulations of these two make my heart melt when I hear the lyrics. The beauty and talent that they share is impeccable. We all want to be loved the way that they loved.  Besides, what woman doesn't want to be a handsome musician's muse?