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 Believe My Time Ain't Long
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I believe I'll dust my broom
I'm gonna get up in the morning
I believe I'll dust my broom
I quit the best gal I'm loving
Now my friends can get my room
I'm gonna write a letter
I'm gonna write a letter
Telephone every town I know
If I don't find the whistle and all
She'll be in East Monroe I know
And I don't want no woman
Want every downtown man she meet
No, I don't want no woman
Want every downtown man she meet
She's a no-good lil' darling
Shouldn't be allowed out on the street
I believe
I believe my time ain't long
I believe
I believe my time ain't long
I ain't gonna leave my baby
And break up my happy home
The lyrics to Fleetwood Mac's song "I Believe My Time Ain't Long" are about a person who is leaving their significant other and starting a new journey. The lyrics suggest that the person is not happy with their current situation and believes that their time is limited. The first verse describes how the person woke up in the morning and decided to "dust their broom" - a common blues expression that means to leave a place. The person has quit the person they were in love with and is leaving behind their room for their friends.
The second verse is about the person's search for their new path. They plan on writing a letter and calling everyone they know in the hopes of finding the "whistle and all" to East Monroe. The third verse is a reflection on the person’s former lover. They do not want a woman who is interested in every man she meets and considers her to be a "no-good lil' darling" who should not be allowed on the street. The chorus repeats the theme of the song, with the person stating that they believe their time is limited but they will not leave their "baby" and "happy home."
Overall, the lyrics suggest a sense of restlessness and a desire for change. The person is leaving behind what they know to search for something better, but they are also aware of the risks that come with this journey.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up in the morning
I started my day
I believe I'll dust my broom
I'm going to clean up my life and move on
I'm gonna get up in the morning
I'm going to start fresh tomorrow
I quit the best gal I'm loving
I broke up with the woman I loved the most
Now my friends can get my room
She's no longer welcome in my life and my friends can now have my attention
I'm gonna write a letter
I'm going to communicate my thoughts
Telephone every town I know
I'm going to reach out to everyone I know
If I don't find the whistle and all
If I don't find the item that will restore my happiness
She'll be in East Monroe I know
She'll be gone and I'll be free
And I don't want no woman
I don't want a woman
Want every downtown man she meet
Who is interested in all the men she meets in the city
No, I don't want no woman
I really don't want her
She's a no-good lil' darling
She's not a good person
Shouldn't be allowed out on the street
She doesn't even deserve to be in public
I believe
I think
I believe my time ain't long
I don't think I have much time left
I ain't gonna leave my baby
I'm not going to abandon what's important to me
And break up my happy home
And ruin the good things I have in my life
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Robert Johnson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Johnnralph
Rip : Peter Green (29 October 1946 – 25 July 2020) Original founding member. This was Fleetwood Macs first single release in 1967 but it wasn't a hit & didn't chart
Jaime Barrera
Super...con Pete todo va en el Blues
Fongling Blues
Blues is Alive Well
OCTOBER 2021
- 👊💯🇦🇺🤠☯️😎🙏
trfesok
When they were putting together "The Chain" in 1992 they mixed up this song with band's cover of "Dust My Broom". So, I put both in my "Chain" playlist.
Atlas King
The very first FM single!
RaxOldies
Elmore James Dust My Broom.....love the old Mac !!
Christine Matheson
R L Burnside ... also love the nun holding an albatross
roporsche
yeah....😻
Lee Polakoff
I'm always at the videos with 5k veiws lucky me
lee shafer
HARP PLAYER?