After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album Buckingham Nicks to little success, Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975, helping the band to become one of the best-selling music acts of all time with over 120 million records sold worldwide. Rumours, the band's second album with Nicks, became one of the best-selling albums worldwide, being certified 20× platinum in the US.[2]
In 1981, while remaining a member of Fleetwood Mac, Nicks began her solo career, releasing the studio album Bella Donna, which topped the Billboard 200 and has reached multiplatinum status.[3] She has released eight studio solo albums and seven studio albums with Fleetwood Mac, selling a certified total of 65 million copies in the US alone.[2]
After the release of her first solo album, Rolling Stone named her the "Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll".[4] Nicks was named one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time[5] and one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time[6] by Rolling Stone. Her Fleetwood Mac songs "Landslide", "Rhiannon", and "Dreams", with the last being the band's only number one hit in the US, together with her solo hit "Edge of Seventeen", have all been included in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[7] She is the first woman to have been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: first as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998 and then as a solo artist in 2019.[8]
Nicks has garnered eight Grammy Award[9] nominations and two American Music Award nominations as a solo artist. She has won numerous awards with Fleetwood Mac, including a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978 for Rumours.
The albums Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Bella Donna have been included in the "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums" chart by Billboard.[10] Furthermore, Rumours was rated the seventh-greatest album of all time in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time",[11] as well as the fourth-greatest album by female acts.[12]
Garbo
Stevie Nicks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All alone at a party with someone I knew
From a time gone by turned into stone
You could be Garbo or even Marlena
You could be Marilyn
Or you could forget
And I do it so well as I do it to you
In this town full of strangers
In this town full of fools
Venus doesn't glitter when she stands next to you
When you're waltzing through stardom
You miss what you lose
Lose yourself in a silvery dress
For you think you must do what you feel you do best
And you mustn't give it up for you're still but a guest
You could be Garbo or even Marlena
Or you could forget
The lyrics to Stevie Nicks's song "Garbo" tell a story of nostalgia and longing for a past time that is now gone. The first two lines express a desire to be with a specific man in a dark linen suit, but the context of the rest of the lyrics implies that this is not a current situation but rather a memory or fantasy. The singer imagines herself at a party with someone she knew from a past time that's now "turned into stone," implying it is no longer accessible. The song then goes on to muse about the fleeting nature of fame and the danger of losing oneself in it.
The singer imagines herself as different famous actresses throughout the song ("You could be Garbo or even Marlena / You could be Marilyn or you could forget"), suggesting a deep desire to escape her current situation and become someone or something else. However, she also warns of the dangers of losing oneself in fame and glamour ("Venus doesn't glitter when she stands next to you / When you're waltzing through stardom you miss what you lose"). Ultimately, the song conveys a feeling of longing for a past that is no longer accessible and a desire to escape into fantasy, but also a warning to guard against losing oneself in that escape.
Line by Line Meaning
I love to waltz with a man in a dark linen suit
I enjoy dancing with a gentleman clad in a dark linen suit, in the solitude of a party, accompanied by an acquaintance from a bygone era, petrified in time.
All alone at a party with someone I knew
I am alone at a celebration with a person I recognize.
From a time gone by turned into stone
That person belongs to my past, and they seem to have frozen in time, as if turned into stone.
You could be Garbo or even Marlena
You might possess the charm and mystique of iconic actresses, like Greta Garbo or Marlena Dietrich.
You could be Marilyn
You could also possess the captivating aura of Marilyn Monroe.
Or you could forget
Or, you could have a humble, unremarkable presence with nothing captivating or memorable about you.
I play the part but then all of us do
I perform a role or a persona, but in reality, we all do.
And I do it so well as I do it to you
I execute my role so flawlessly that even when I'm with you, it's hard to distinguish between the act and the real me.
In this town full of strangers
We live in a place brimming with unfamiliar faces, people we don't know.
In this town full of fools
In this same town, we have many people behaving foolishly, acting out a part, ignorant of their true selves.
Venus doesn't glitter when she stands next to you
Even Venus, the Goddess of Love, pales in comparison to your stardom, your glamour, and your charm.
When you're waltzing through stardom
As you dance through your life of stardom.
You miss what you lose
You may overlook the things you lose, blinded by the dazzle of your fame.
Lose yourself in a silvery dress
Indulge in a shining, silvery outfit, and lose yourself in a persona that you think embodies your best self.
For you think you must do what you feel you do best
You feel like you must promote this version of yourself, because you believe it is your superior self.
And you mustn't give it up for you're still but a guest
You must continue to play this part, because you feel that you are still only temporarily living in this world.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: NICKS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind