Primarily a British blues band, Fleetwood Mac scored a UK number one with "Albatross", and had other hits such as the singles "Oh Well" and "Man of the World". All three guitarists left in succession during the early 1970s, to be replaced by guitarists Bob Welch and Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker. By 1974, all three of them had either departed or been dismissed, leaving the band without a male lead vocalist or guitarist. In late 1974, while Fleetwood was scouting studios in Los Angeles, he was introduced to American folk-rock duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac soon asked Buckingham to be their new lead guitarist, and Buckingham agreed on condition that Nicks would also join the band.
The addition of Buckingham and Nicks gave the band a more pop rock sound, and their 1975 self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac, reached No. 1 in the United States. Rumours (1977), Fleetwood Mac's second album after the arrival of Buckingham and Nicks, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles and remained at number one on the American albums chart for 31 weeks. It also reached the top spot in various countries around the world and won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978. Rumours has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. The band went through personal turmoil while recording the album, as both the romantic partnerships in the band (one being John and Christine McVie, and the other being Buckingham and Nicks) separated while continuing to make music together.
The band's personnel remained stable through three more studio albums, but by the late 1980s began to disintegrate. After Buckingham and Nicks each left the band, they were replaced by a number of other guitarists and vocalists. A 1993 one-off performance for the first inauguration of Bill Clinton featured the lineup of Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Nicks, and Buckingham back together for the first time in six years. A full reunion occurred four years later, and the group released their fourth U.S. No. 1 album, The Dance (1997), a live compilation of their hits, also marking the 20th anniversary of Rumours. Christine McVie left the band in 1998, but continued to work with the band in a session capacity. Meanwhile, the group remained together as a four-piece, releasing their most recent studio album, Say You Will, in 2003. Christine McVie rejoined the band full-time in 2014. In 2018, Buckingham was fired from the band and was replaced by Mike Campbell, formerly of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House.
Fleetwood Mac has sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling bands. In 1979, the group was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1998 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Danny Kirwan, guitarist, songwriter and early member of Fleetwood Mac (1968–1972) died in London, England, on 8 June 2018, aged 68. An obituary in The New York Times said he had died in his sleep after contracting pneumonia earlier in the year. The British music magazine Mojo quoted Christine McVie as saying: "Danny Kirwan was the white English blues guy. Nobody else could play like him. He was a one-off ... Danny and Peter [Green] gelled so well together. Danny had a very precise, piercing vibrato – a unique sound ... He was a perfectionist; a fantastic musician and a fantastic writer." One of Kirwan's songs, "Tell Me All the Things You Do" from the 1970 album Kiln House, was included in the set of the 2018–19 An Evening with Fleetwood Mac tour.
On 28 May 2020 Neil Finn, featuring Nicks and McVie, with Campbell on guitar, released the song “Find Your Way Back Home” for the Auckland, New Zealand homeless shelter Auckland City Mission.
Founding member Peter Green died on 25 July 2020 at the age of 73. In October 2020, Rumours again entered the Billboard top 10. The album received 30.6 million plays on streaming platforms the week of October 15, after a TikTok video of the song "Dreams" went viral.
On 30 November 2022, it was announced that band member Christine McVie died at the age of 79, after a short illness.
Go Your Own Way
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning
Isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things
That I feel?
If I could
Baby, I'd give you my world
How can I
When you won't take it from me?
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up is all you want to do
If I could
Baby, I'd give you my world
Open up
Everything's waiting for you
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
The lyrics to Fleetwood Mac's song "Go Your Own Way" seem to be about a relationship that is ending or has ended due to the narrator's partner not wanting the same things as the narrator. The first verse establishes that loving the partner isn't the right thing to do because the narrator can't change the way they feel about the relationship. The second verse expresses how the narrator would give their partner their world if they could, but the partner won't accept it. The chorus repeats the title phrase "go your own way" several times, implying that the narrator wants their partner to pursue their own goals and dreams, even if it means being alone. The bridge laments how everything turned around and how the partner only wants to "pack up" and "shack up" with others. The final chorus repeats the title phrase several more times.
The song's lyrics were written by the band's lead guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham, and are believed to be about his romantic relationship with the band's singer, Stevie Nicks. The two were in a turbulent relationship throughout the 1970s, and this song is thought to be Buckingham's response to Nicks breaking up with him.
Line by Line Meaning
Loving you
Despite my feelings for you, being with you is not the right decision for me.
Isn't the right thing to do
Our relationship is unhealthy and not good for either of us.
How can I ever change things
There is nothing I can do to fix our relationship and make things better.
That I feel?
Despite knowing that our relationship is not good for me, I still have strong emotions for you.
If I could
If I had the power to change our situation, I would do anything to help us.
Baby, I'd give you my world
I would give you everything I have, if only you would accept it.
When you won't take it from me?
Despite my offers to help, you refuse to accept my love and support.
You can go your own way
You are free to live your life without me and pursue your own happiness.
Go your own way
I am not going to hold you back from doing what you want with your life.
You can call it
You might see our separation as a difficult or lonely time, but it is necessary for both of us to grow individually.
Another lonely day
Being apart from each other might be a difficult and lonely time but it is for the best.
Tell me why
I am confused about how our situation turned out this way and why things are falling apart.
Everything turned around
Our relationship has changed and things are no longer the way they used to be.
Packing up
You are leaving our relationship behind and moving on with your life.
Shacking up is all you want to do
You are only interested in pursuing physical relationships and not building emotional and mental connections.
Open up
There are many opportunities waiting for you if you leave our relationship behind and pursue your own path.
Everything's waiting for you
Your life is full of opportunities and potential, waiting for you to seize them.
You can call it
You might see our separation as a difficult or lonely time, but it is necessary for both of us to grow individually.
Another lonely day
Being apart from each other might be a difficult and lonely time but it is for the best.
You can go your own way
You are free to live your life without me and pursue your own happiness.
You can go your own way
You have the power and freedom to pursue any life path you choose.
You can call it
You might see our separation as a difficult or lonely time, but it is necessary for both of us to grow individually.
Another lonely day
Being apart from each other might be a difficult and lonely time but it is for the best.
You can go your own way
You are free to live your life without me and pursue your own happiness.
Lyrics © HIPGNOSIS SONGS GROUP, BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Lindsey Buckingham
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mindchime Official
RIP Christine. Your vocals will never die on this song.
Beano
Not just this song....
She was hot for the whole time she lived. All the other songs were great too. Much love
Stacey Chutskoff
Very Nice!
That One Guy Chad
@GunsNBudder I find this on a lot of FM songs. People are in the comments praising something you can't hear 🤣
Davan Mani
I liked Christine the best when she was singing background and playing the Hammond and Fender. I had a creep crush on her. I loved when she tuned her instruments on demos and live shows. It sounded symphonic.
tHe GrEy MaN
Lindsey Buckingham sings this song...
TheHypernaught
Most of the songs on Rumours is Stevie and Lindsey sniping at each other and that's what makes it brilliant. Kudos to them for keeping the band together under all that pressure and creating brilliant tunes.
matthew sandell
imagine being talented enough that the back and forth between a couple can become absolute classic songs. I mean, no one wants to hear someone going on about the petty crap with their ex's haha
Smallies
the fighting made them great i dont care
Christian Buxaderas
You can call it another day