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.
Bare Trees
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, yeah, it was a cold night
Bare trees, gray light
I was alone in the cold of a winters day
You were alone and so snug in your bed
I was alone in the cold of a winters day
You were alone and so snug in your bed
Bah do dah, mm dah, da do da do
Dah do dah, mm dah, da do wah oh
La do dah, mm dah, da do da do
Dah do dah, mm dah, da do la la la
Bare trees, gray light
Oh, yeah, it was a cold night
Bare trees, gray light
I was alone in the cold of a winters day
You were alone and so snug in your bed
I was alone in the cold of a winters day
You were alone and so snug in your bed
Bah do dah, mm dah, da do da do
Dah do dah, mm dah, da do wah oh
La do dah, mm dah, wah do, wah do
Wah do dah, mm dah, wah do la la la
The lyrics of Fleetwood Mac's song, Bare Trees, are evocative of a numbing, cold winter's day. The lyrics seem to speak of a sense of loneliness and isolation despite the presence of the people around you. The song opens with the lines "Bare trees, gray light, oh yeah, it was a cold night," which immediately set the mood with the use of color and imagery. The phrase "bare trees" is a symbol of emptiness and loneliness, perhaps indicating that the person singing the song is feeling that same sense of emptiness. The "gray light" also is a bleak and dreary image, adding to the feeling of coldness.
The following verse plays with the contrast between the singer's loneliness and the warmth and comfort of someone else's bed. The lines "I was alone in the cold of a winters day, you were alone and so snug in your bed" drive this point home. Despite the fact that there are people around, the singer still feels alone and isolated, as they are not in that warm and comfortable place.
Overall, the lyrics of "Bare Trees" speak to the human condition of feeling alone and disconnected, even in the presence of other people. It highlights how the world can seem so different from one person's perspective to the next.
Line by Line Meaning
Bare trees, gray light
The emptiness of the trees and the dull, gray light create a somber and isolated mood.
Oh yeah it was a cold night
This phrase reinforces the dreariness of the environment and highlights the bitter cold.
I was alone in the cold of a winters day
The singer is lonely and feels unimportant, as symbolized by the barrenness and chill of winter.
You were alone and so snug in your bed
The artist is juxtaposed against an anonymous ‘you’ who is comfortable, warm and satisfied, which only emphasizes their isolation.
Bah do dah, do dah da do da do
This is an instrumental break that provides the audience a chance to reflect on the meaning of the lyrics.
Bare trees, gray light
This repeated phrase reinforces the loneliness and emotional bleakness of the situation.
Oh yeah it was a cold night
This phrase acts as the chorus and reinforces how important the environment is to the story being told.
I was alone in the cold of a winters day
The artist is isolated and disconnected from others, beset by only natural surroundings.
You were alone and so snug in your bed
The anonymous ‘you’ is still comfortable while the artist is confronting their situation alone and cold in a natural and unforgiving environment.
Bah do dah, do dah da do da do
This provides the audience a chance to consider the lyrics further and contemplate them in their own way.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Daniel Kirwan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Henri Hudson
on Tusk
Why don't you ask him if he's going to stay?
Why don't you ask him if he's going away?