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.
I'm so Afraid
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the years
So many ways to count the tears
I never change
I never will
I'm so afraid the way I feel
Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Agony's torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die
I been alone
Always down
No one cared to stay around
I never change
I never will
I'm so afraid the way I feel
Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony's torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die
How I feel
Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony's torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die
The song 'I'm So Afraid' by Fleetwood Mac captures the essence of fear and hopelessness in a relationship. The lyrics narrate the feelings of someone who has been alone for years, experiencing pain and tears in various ways. The singer seems to be stuck in a loop of loneliness and is afraid that they will never change or be happy.
The line "Days when the rain and the sun are gone, black as night" is particularly impactful. It is a metaphor for the dark emotions that take over when everything seems lost. The agony that has torn at the singer's heart for too long, causing them to slip and fall and die, is a poignant image of despair.
Overall, the song encapsulates the helplessness and fear that people can feel when they are trapped in a relationship that is stagnant and unfulfilling. It is a melancholy reminder of the negative emotions that can result from love lost.
Line by Line Meaning
I been alone
I have spent many years without any significant emotional connection with anyone
All the years
Throughout my life, for an extended period of time
So many ways to count the tears
I cannot even quantify the number of times I cried for my own loneliness
I never change
I have always been the same with a constant pain inside me
I never will
I cannot see any change or hope from my present state
I'm so afraid the way I feel
I am genuinely scared of all the deep feelings and the lonely life that I am leading
Days when the rain and the sun are gone
There are times in life when nothing seems right and everything appears dull and unpleasant
Black as night
Those times seem so dark and hopeless, like the darkest of nights
Agony's torn at my heart too long
The grief and anguish that have oppressed my heart for so long have left me broken and hurt
So afraid
I am always terrified of the possibility of being hurt again by someone or the thought of dying alone
Slip and I fall and I die
The fear of dying alone and the thought of not having anyone to hold on to seem more prominent and intense
Always down
I am still without any warmth or affection from anyone else
No one cared to stay around
Nobody was willing to stick around and show me some care and love
How I feel
The agony and pain that runs deep within my heart, leaving me always concerned and afraid of everything
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Lindsey Buckingham
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jonathanwood6522
I been alone
All the years
So many ways to count the tears
I never change
I never will
I'm so afraid the way I feel
Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony's torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die.
I been alone
Always down
No one cared to stay around
I never change
I never will
I'm so afraid the way I feel
Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony's torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die
@juliusmaloney
The guitar solo alone is worth the price of admission.
@jujogalizano
Julius Maloney right
@cockhammer09
yes!!
@janiebear7
Yes!
@SteveSmekar-ll6ln
I wish I had a few more thumbs up to offer.
@stever7157
I saw them earlier this year minus Lindsey, and it would have been awesome if they did this one.
@Gasssolo
The solo...it's like the eye of the hurricane, chaotic yet perfect, escalating constantly when you thought there was nowhere to raise the suspense. Truly exhilarating.
@user-uc8wi6nz8j
True words
@kieranpersse2769
Perfect way to explain it. Simply perfect.
@JT-dx1qk
Yep , awesome