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.
Over My Head
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And then again you can be as cold ice
I'm over my head (over my head)
Oh, but it sure feels nice
You can take me anytime you like
I'll be around if you think you might love me, baby (over my head)
And hold me tight
Your mood is like a circus wheel
You're changing all the time
Sometimes I can't help but feel
That I'm wasting all of my time
(Over my head)
Your mood is like a circus wheel
You're changing all the time
Sometimes I can't help but feel
That I'm wasting all of my time
I think I'm looking on the dark side
But everyday you hurt my pride
I'm over my head (over my head)
Oh, but it sure feels nice
I'm over my head (over my head)
But it sure feels nice
I'm over my head (over my head)
But it sure feels nice
The lyrics of Fleetwood Mac's song "Over My Head" tell the story of a person in a tumultuous relationship. The opening lines describe how someone can be taken to paradise while, at the same time, experience the sting of rejection. In the chorus, the singer uses repetition to emphasize the confusion and paradoxical nature of the relationship: "I'm over my head (over my head)/ Oh, but it sure feels nice." Here, the singer acknowledges that even though they're in a relationship that's hurting them, they still find pleasure in the connection, highlighting the deep emotional complexities of such relationships.
In the second verse, the singer describes their partner's "mood" as a "circus wheel," reflecting their partner's constantly changing behavior. It's unclear whether the partner is intentionally manipulative, but the singer seems to be struggling with the constant instability of the relationship. Although the singer is hopeful about the potential for love between them, there's an underlying feeling of resignation and despair that their love interest may never be able to fully commit to them. This feeling is underscored by the final lines of the song when the singer recognizes that they might be "looking on the dark side" but willing to endure the pain of heartbreak because at least it "sure feels nice."
Line by Line Meaning
You can take me to paradise
You have the ability to make me feel like I'm in heaven
And then again you can be as cold ice
But at the same time, you can be emotionally distant and unfeeling
I'm over my head (over my head)
I'm in way over my emotional depth and it's a bit overwhelming
Oh, but it sure feels nice
But the rush of emotions is still enjoyable, despite the uncertainty
You can take me anytime you like
I'm always available and willing to be with you
I'll be around if you think you might love me, baby (over my head)
If you have even the slightest inkling that you might love me, I'll be there waiting
And hold me tight
I crave physical and emotional closeness with you
Your mood is like a circus wheel
You're unpredictable and constantly changing in your emotions and behavior
You're changing all the time
Your changes are frequent and erratic, making it hard for me to keep up
Sometimes I can't help but feel
At times, it's difficult for me not to think
That I'm wasting all of my time (Over my head)
That I'm investing too much effort and energy with little reward
I think I'm looking on the dark side
I suspect I may be viewing things too pessimistically
But everyday you hurt my pride
Regardless, your actions often bruise my ego and self-esteem
I'm over my head (over my head)
I'm barely keeping afloat with my emotions in regards to you
Oh, but it sure feels nice
But even with everything considered, my feelings for you are still intense and pleasurable
I'm over my head (over my head)
I know these feelings are too much for me to handle
But it sure feels nice
But the sheer intensity of my emotions can also be enjoyable
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Christine Mcvie
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?