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 Don
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love keeps right on walking on down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, I just want you to feel fine
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking on down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Finally baby
The truth has come down now
Take a listen to your spirit
It's crying out loud.
Tryin' to believe
Oh you say you love me, but you don't know
You got me rocking and a-reeling
Oh oh yeah uh huh
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking on down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, I just want you to feel fine
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking on down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, I just want you to feel fine
Finally baby
The truth has been told
Now you tell me that I'm crazy
It's nothing that I didn't know
Trying to survive
Oh you say you love me, but you don't know
You got me rocking and a-reeling
Hey I want you oh oh yeah uh huh
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking on down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, take a little time.
Oh I don't want to know
The emotions in Fleetwood Mac's "I Don't Want to Know" are complex and multifaceted: the song deals with feelings of heartbreak, confusion, and longing in the face of a relationship that seems to be falling apart. The singer is trying to maintain a sense of emotional distance, insisting repeatedly that they "don't want to know the reasons why love keeps walking on down the line," but it's clear that they're struggling to keep their emotions in check.
At times, the singer seems to be resigned to their fate: they don't want to come between their lover and their feelings, and they just want their partner to be happy, even if that means letting them go. But there are moments when the pain and confusion of the situation come to the surface, like when the singer sings, "You say you love me, but you don't know / You got me rocking and a-reeling / Oh oh yeah uh huh." There's a sense of desperation in this line, a feeling that the singer is being tossed around by their emotions and can't control what's happening to them.
Overall, "I Don't Want to Know" is a powerful reflection on the difficult emotions that can arise when a relationship is falling apart. The song captures the sense of helplessness and confusion that many people feel in these situations, and offers a moving testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of emotional turmoil.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want to know the reasons why
I don't want to know the specifics or explanations of why our love is failing.
Love keeps right on walking on down the line
Our love is simply fading away and moving forward.
I don't want to stand between you and love
I don't want to be an obstacle to you and your new love interest.
Honey, I just want you to feel fine
I just want you to be happy and content.
Finally baby, the truth has come down now
The truth about our love has finally been revealed.
Take a listen to your spirit, it's crying out loud.
Reflect on your emotions and how our relationship is affecting you.
Trying to believe. Oh you say you love me, but you don't know
I'm struggling to trust your words of love when your actions show otherwise.
You got me rocking and a-reeling. Oh oh yeah uh huh
You're causing me emotional turmoil and distress.
Finally baby, the truth has been told
The truth about our relationship struggles has been discussed.
Now you tell me that I'm crazy, it's nothing that I didn't know
You're accusing me of overreacting when I already knew the situation wasn't good.
Trying to survive. Oh you say you love me, but you don't know
I'm trying to hold on and make our love work, but your lack of effort is making it difficult.
Hey I want you oh oh yeah uh huh
Despite our difficulties, I still desire your love and affection.
Love keeps right on walking on down the line
Our relationship is still fading away and moving forward.
I don't want to stand between you and love
I still don't want to be an obstacle to your new love interest.
Honey, take a little time
Take some time to reflect on your feelings and what you truly want out of a relationship.
Oh I don't want to know the reasons why
I still don't want to know the specifics or explanations of our failed love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: STEVIE NICKS
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?