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.
Got To Move
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got to move
You can't stay here no more
You've got to move, you can't stay here no more, oh yes
You're my baby, I love you so but
Still you've got to go away from here
You won't iron, you won't sew
Oh, no, you won't even scrub the floor
You're my baby, I love you so but
Still you've got to go away from here, yeah
(Yeah, ah, yes, ah)
Well, I'd rather be dead and in my grave
Then to see another man here to take my place
Oh, yes, you've got to move, yeah
You're my baby, I love you so but
Still you've got to go away from here, yes
(Yes, hey)
Well, I'd rather be dead and in my grave
Then to see another man here to take my place
Mm, yes, you've got to move, yeah
You're my baby, I love you so
But still you've got to go away from here
You got to move, away from here (hey)
Oh, yes, you got to move, away from here, mm
You're my baby, I love you so
But still you've got to go away from here
Let's play it out now, boys, yeah, yes
The lyrics to the Fleetwood Mac song "Got To Move" are about a man telling a woman that she needs to leave him. He tells her that she won't do anything to help their household and that he would rather be dead than watch another man take his place. Despite his love for her, he knows that she needs to move away from there.
The lyrics suggest a sense of frustration and disappointment in the relationship. The man loves the woman but realizes that she is a burden on him and their home. He is at his wit's end and knows that he has no other choice but to ask her to leave. The song speaks to the complexities of love and relationships and the decisions we must make for ourselves and our own mental health and wellbeing.
Overall, "Got To Move" is not just a breakup song, but a song about the difficulty of letting go of something we love, but ultimately know is not good for us. It is about making tough decisions and realizing that sometimes, love is not always enough to keep a relationship afloat.
Line by Line Meaning
You've got to move
It's time for you to leave this place and move on to a new chapter in your life.
You can't stay here no more
This place is no longer suitable for you to stay in and you need to find a new one.
You're my baby, I love you so but
Although I care for you deeply, the situation is such that you need to leave.
Still you've got to go away from here
Despite my feelings for you, it's time for you to move on from this place.
You won't cook, you won't wash
You refuse to do even the most basic housework to contribute to this household.
You won't iron, you won't sew
You're unwilling to do any of the necessary chores required to maintain this household.
Oh, no, you won't even scrub the floor
You won't even do the bare minimum of keeping the house clean and presentable.
Well, I'd rather be dead and in my grave
I'd prefer to die than to see another man steal my place with you.
Then to see another man here to take my place
I can't bear the thought of another man replacing me in your life.
You've got to move, yeah
It's imperative that you leave this place and start afresh.
You got to move, away from here (hey)
You need to physically remove yourself from this environment and move on to something new.
You're my baby, I love you so
I have strong feelings towards you, but that doesn't change the fact that you need to leave.
But still you've got to go away from here
Leaving this place is the best course of action for both you and I.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, GULF COAST MUSIC LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Elmore James, Marshall Sehorn
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?