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.
Road Runner
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let me live my life free and easy
Put a toothbrush in my hand
And let me be travelin' man
'Cause I'm a road runner, baby
I'm a road runner, baby
I'm a road runner, baby
One look at me and I'll be gone
Well, you can love me if you wanna
But I do declare
When I get restless
I've got to move somewhere
'Cause I'm a road runner, baby
Anywhere is my home
And I love the life I live
And I'm going to live the life I love
I'm a road runner, baby
Don't want no woman
To tie me down
Gotta be free, baby
To roam around
All my life, I've been like this
And if you love me, it's your own risk
'Cause when the dust hits my shoes
I've got the urge to move
Yes, I'm a road runner, baby
Gotta keep moving on
Hey, and I live the life I love
And I'm gonna love the life I live
I'm a road runner, baby
Don't want no woman
To tie me down
Gotta be free, baby
To roam around
All my life, I've been like this
And if you love me, it's your own risk
'Cause when the dust hits my shoes
I've got the urge to move
Yes, I'm a road runner, baby
Gotta keep moving on
Hey, and I live the life I love
And I'm gonna love the life I live
I'm a road runner, baby
The lyrics of Fleetwood Mac's "Road Runner" express a sense of wanderlust and a desire for freedom from societal expectations and material possessions. The singer sings of his need to constantly move and explore, valuing his toothbrush over money and rejecting the idea of being tied down to any one place or person. The repetition of the line "I'm a road runner, baby" reinforces this idea of constantly being in motion, and the use of the metaphorical bird suggests a sense of speed and agility.
The singer acknowledges that his lifestyle is not for everyone, warning potential partners that loving him comes with a risk that he may suddenly leave. This rejection of traditional expectations and commitment is further emphasized in the repeated line "Don't want no woman to tie me down, gotta be free, baby, to roam around." Overall, the lyrics of "Road Runner" convey a sense of restlessness and a desire for a life of adventure and freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Money, who needs it?
I don't care about money and don't want to be tied down by it.
Let me live my life free and easy
I want to live freely and without any burdens or responsibilities.
Put a toothbrush in my hand
All I need is a toothbrush, as a symbol of my simple lifestyle.
And let me be travelin' man
I want to be a nomad, always on the move and exploring new places.
'Cause I'm a road runner, baby
I am a free spirit who never stays in one place for too long.
Can't stay in one place too long
I get restless when I stay in one place for too long and need to move on.
One look at me and I'll be gone
People know that I never stick around for too long.
Well, you can love me if you wanna
I am not against love, but I cannot be tied down to one place or one person.
But I do declare
I promise you that I will always be a free spirit.
When I get restless
My need for freedom is strong and I cannot resist the urge to move on.
I've got to move somewhere
I need to move on, to explore new places, and to live my adventurous lifestyle.
Anywhere is my home
As a nomad, I am content to call anywhere my home.
And I love the life I live
Living free and on the move is the only way I want to live.
And I'm going to live the life I love
I am committed to living my life on my own terms, following my wandering spirit.
Don't want no woman
I don't want to be tied down to a romantic relationship.
To tie me down
Being tied down to one woman and one place is not a lifestyle that suits me.
Gotta be free, baby
I need to be free to live my adventurous and nomadic lifestyle.
To roam around
I want to be able to travel and explore wherever I want, whenever I want.
All my life, I've been like this
I have always been a free-spirited person.
And if you love me, it's your own risk
Loving me means embracing my lifestyle, which can be unpredictable and unstable.
'Cause when the dust hits my shoes
When I'm restless and need to move on.
I've got the urge to move
I cannot resist the call to move on to my next adventure.
Yes, I'm a road runner, baby
I am a nomadic free spirit who loves to travel and explore new places.
Gotta keep moving on
I cannot stay in one place too long and must keep moving on to my next adventure.
Hey, and I live the life I love
I am living my dream lifestyle, free and on the move.
And I'm gonna love the life I live
I am committed to living the life that suits me best, even if it's not conventional.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Edward Holland
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?