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.
The Second Time
Fleetwood Mac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or was it true?
That woman used to Hollywood living
Do you remember how the angels sang?
And your sorrows left you there
Right before the lights came up
Do you remember? You took my hand
Did you feel like it was the second time with you?
That feeling of a vivid memory
Well it had to do
With a dream come true
And someone that you loved
And would always love
Second time around for us
She never looked back
Someone that you loved
And would always love
Second time around for us
She never looked back
She could never look back
The lyrics of Fleetwood Mac’s song The Second Time are poetic and filled with imagery that offers a reflection on the transience of life, memories and love. The song opens up with a rhetorical question about memory “Was it in my mind, or was it true?” which invites the listener to reflect on the theme of memory, and how time can blur reality and fantasy. Following this, the lyrics talk about a woman who was used to Hollywood living and how the angels sang. These lines offer a reflection on the dreamlike quality of memories, particularly those that are associated with the glamorous world of Hollywood. The next few lines talk about how the sorrows of the past were left behind before the lights came up. The use of lighting is a metaphor for clarity and enlightenment, and how, when we look back on our lives, memories offer clarity and enlightenment in understanding how we grow and evolve as individuals.
The chorus of the song then talks about a feeling of a vivid memory of a dream coming true. The use of the word “vivid” serves as a reminder that these memories do not fade away with time but remain potent and clear as if they happened yesterday. The lines, “Second time around for us, she never looked back…” suggest the possibility of second chances in life and love. This is a hopeful message that life, no matter how tumultuous, offers opportunities for growth and evolution. The line “She could never look back” might be interpreted as a reference to the fleeting nature of time and how we should cherish and appreciate every moment in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Was it in my mind
I am unsure whether what I am about to describe actually occurred or if it was just a thought
Or was it true?
I question if the event I am recalling was actually real
That woman used to Hollywood living
The woman I encountered was accustomed to living a lavish lifestyle associated with Hollywood culture
Do you remember how the angels sang?
Can you recall the moment when everything seemed perfect and even the angels were singing?
And your sorrows left you there
All of your troubles were gone at that moment and you felt free from any emotional pain
Right before the lights came up
This moment of solace was interrupted by the return of reality and the end of a moment in time
Do you remember? You took my hand
Can you recollect the moment we shared where I gently took your hand?
Do you remember, my friend?
Can you recall the special moment we shared, my dear friend?
Did you feel like it was the second time with you?
Did you feel as though we had shared this moment before and that it was meant to be?
That feeling of a vivid memory
This seemingly new experience felt familiar and familiar, as if a memory from long ago
Well it had to do
This familiar feeling was attributed to
With a dream come true
The fulfillment of a desired outcome that felt too good to be true
And someone that you loved
The person attached to this unearthly feeling was someone you loved deeply
And would always love
You understood that the love for this person would last lifetimes and be eternal
Second time around for us
This experience was shared between us in a familiar yet new manner, making it a second time around moment
She never looked back
The woman who brought us together never once second-guessed her decision
Someone that you loved
The power and force of this experience was tied to the love you held for the person involved
And would always love
The love that was present would never fade or disappear
Second time around for us
The second time around moment was shared by us two and recognized as a special, unique event
She never looked back
The woman who brought us together never second-guessed her decision and continued to live in the present moment
She could never look back
Her path forward was clear and she knew that this moment was meant to be, so she refused to dwell on the past
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Rick Vito, 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?