Soft Rock Music

This song was written by Stevie Nicks for Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours1977  album. At this point in 1976, there were a whole lot of personal breakups going on for the band. — that is, Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, John and Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood and his wife Jenny Boyd. Nicks was not happy with Buckingham’s song “Go Your Own Way,” which was a bitter breakup song.  Anyway, in 1976, she went into the Record Plant studio in Sausalito, California, to write. She tried another studio that the group wasn’t using but was said to belong to Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone. It was quite a room, being black and red with a sunken pit in the middle with a piano and big black-velvet bed with Victorian drapes. It was a good place for dreams.

The song “Dreams” charted well internationally in 1977. It rose to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (their only #1 hit on that chart) and #1 in Canada. It was #19 in Australia, #33 in Germany, #16 in New Zealand, and #24 in the U.K. The album Rumours earned Platinum certification in the U.S. and the U.K.

On the track were Stevie Nicks (lead vocals, backing vocals), Christine McVie (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ, backing vocals), Lindsey Buckingham (electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals), Mick Fleetwood (drums, congas), and John McVie (bass guitar). The lineup has changed over the years, of course, and the group continues to tour and perform.

Here are the lyrics to ” Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac:

Now here you go again, you say
You want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down
It’s only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness
Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost, and what you had, and what you lost

Thunder only happens when it’s raining
Players only love you when they’re playing
Say women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know, you’ll know

Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions
I keep my visions to myself, it’s only me
Who wants to wrap around your dreams and,
Have you any dreams you’d like to sell?
Dreams of loneliness,
Like a heartbeat, drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering, what you had,
And what you lost and what you had ooo what you lost

Thunder only happens when it’s raining
Players only love you when they’re playing
Women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know

Oh, thunder only happens when it’s raining
Players only love you when they’re playing
Say, women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know
You’ll know, you will know, you’ll know

For another song by Fleetwood Mac: “Go Your Own Way.”

For More 70s Tunes

The System has daily featured music from all sorts of genres of 1970s music. You’re welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections in The System. Thank you for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac.