Fleetwood Mac is a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fl… Read Full Bio ↴Fleetwood Mac is a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac was founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the lineup for their self-titled debut album. Danny Kirwan joined as a third guitarist in 1968. Keyboardist Christine Perfect (later known as Christine McVie), who contributed as a session musician from the second album, married McVie and joined in 1970.

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.

Mean Old Fireman
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Written by (traditional).

I went down to the station
I leaned up against the door
Yeah, I went down to the station
I leaned up against the door
I said good-bye to my sweet, ride on

I said now, she couldn't use me no more

It was a mean old fireman
And a cruel old engineer
He was a mean old fireman
And a cruel old engineer
Yes, takin' way my sweet woman
And left me standing here

Break:

I used to roll my baby
Till she - was forced to jump and shout
I used to roll my sweet baby
Till she was forced to jump and shout
Now that train pulls in boys
And I'll come walkin out

I heard the fireman blow the whistle
And the engineer ring the bell
I heard the fireman blow the whistle
And engineer ring the bell
I knew it was time boys

To - bid my baby farewell
Um

Overall Meaning

The Fleetwood Mac song "Mean Old Fireman" is a traditional blues song that tells a story of heartbreak and loss. The singer of the song goes to the train station to say goodbye to his lover, who has left him for the "mean old fireman" and "cruel old engineer." He once used to roll his baby until she was forced to jump and shout, but now he is left standing alone as the train pulls in.

The repeated phrases of "mean old fireman" and "cruel old engineer" create a sense of bitterness and anger towards these characters who have taken the singer's sweet woman away from him. The train, a common symbol in blues music, represents the journey of life and the loss of love. The singer knows it is time to bid his baby farewell, indicating a sense of acceptance and resignation to his fate.

Overall, the lyrics of "Mean Old Fireman" convey the pain of lost love and the harsh realities of life. Despite the sadness in the lyrics, the song is imbued with a sense of resilience and a determination to keep going, even in the face of heartbreak.

Line by Line Meaning

I went down to the station
I walked down to the train station

I leaned up against the door
I stood next to the station's entrance and propped myself against the door

Yeah, I went down to the station
Yes, I really did go to the train station

I said good-bye to my sweet, ride on
I bid farewell to my train that I depended on

I said now, she couldn't use me no more
I realized that I was no longer of use to the train

It was a mean old fireman
There was a heartless and unpleasant fireman

And a cruel old engineer
Also, a ruthless and inconsiderate engineer

He was a mean old fireman
That fireman truly was unpleasant

And a cruel old engineer
And the engineer was indeed mean

Yes, takin' way my sweet woman
They took away my cherished train

And left me standing here
And now I'm left here all alone