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The Penguin Discography: Wrong




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    Song Title »
Wrong
    Authors »
Lindsey Buckingham, Richard Dashut

    Year Written »
1992

    This Performance »
Date Performance 1992-00-00
Running Time 4:19
Performers Lindsey Buckingham (Performed By)
Appears On
Out Of The Cradle (1992)
Lindsey Buckingham
Words And Music (0000)
Lindsey Buckingham

    Lyrics »

Everybody's heard it
How everything went wrong
Advance was spent some time ago
Agent's on the phone
Young Mr. Rockcock
Where do you belong?
The man ain't got no answer
Leisure line to heaven
Puttin' on the hits
Here we have another
Another piece of glitz
Young Mr. Rockcock
Where do you belong?
The man ain't got no answer
The man just got it wrong
Looking through the keyhole
Did I see another
Piggy in the middle
Piggy on the cover
Young Mr. Rockcock
Where do you belong?
The man ain't got no answer
The man just got it wrong

    Fan Interpretation »

"This was just my way of a kind of a gentle,
tongue in cheek slap on the hand, that's all."
- Lindsey Buckingham
The song "Wrong" was co-written by Lindsey and Richard Dashut for Lindsey's critically acclaimed, 1992 solo album Out of The Cradle.

In 1990 Mick Fleetwood came out with his autobiography entitled "My Life and Adventures In Fleetwood Mac." It chronicled the band's history from their beginnings in England up until Lindsey left the band in 1987. Anyone who has ever read this book knows that Mick did not portray Lindsey in a very flattering light. Maybe a lot of this had to do with the fact that Lindsey left the band right before the Tango In The Night tour. Mick had filed for bankruptcy in the Spring of 1984 and he was trying to get back on his feet financially. He must've felt some animosity towards Lindsey for not touring and helping him out. He even refers to it in his book. "He (Lindsey) made it clear he wasn't prepared to do me any favors---that is tour to help me back on my feet financially." Some people thought Mick's book was somewhat trashy and kind of transferred the band into something out of the pages of a national tabloid.

"I skimmed Mick's book," Lindsey says. "I found there were a few things in there that weren't accurate. Everyone was very hurt by that. Not by any facts in particular, which I definitely was hurt by, but just the tone of it in general. Just the fact that it was so trashy. Fleetwood Mac may have wound down, but it's a shame to have things come out that sort of add a lack of dignity to it. It doesn't have to be that way. I was very unhappy with a couple of very specific incidents described in there (Lindsey slapping Stevie) which were totally untrue." Lindsey also said that when Mick's book came out he didn't feel the need to respond and that he wasn't going to dignify it with a response at that time.

During a radio interview in 1992 when asked what the song "Wrong" was about, Lindsey replied with a laugh, "I used to dodge that question when it first came out, but I mean I've seen Mick since then. He's listened to it and he knows what it's about. There was a little bad blood when Mick's book came out because there were a lot of things in there that had very hard slants to me on what my contributions had been and there were a couple of things in there that were just downright not true. He goes on to say that "Wrong" is about a lot of people. It's sort of a composite of a number of people. But, yeah, that was a way of addressing that (Mick's book) a little bit. When asked if there was a veiled reference in the song to another member in the band, Lindsey replied, "No, not really. There really isn't. It's a tongue in cheek chiding of the generic rock type who loses his perspective and maybe acts a little inappropriately because of that. We've all known people like that and to some degree I've been there myself, so I'm laughing at myself, I'm laughing at the business and the pitfalls that people fall into." In a VH1 to One interview in 1992, Lindsey says he was asked if this song was about George Bush who was running for a second term in office at the time. It seems as if Lindsey is taking the opportunity in this song to point out to the music industry and to Stevie and possibly some others in his life that have "wronged" him or labeled him in one way that they are mistaken. As Lindsey said during "The Dance" concert in 1997, "No one falls into a simple set of labels."

Everybody's heard it, how everything went wrong.
Advance was spent some time ago, agent's on the phone
Lindsey is clearly tired of rehashing the old stories about the discord within the band, and he's saying that everyone has read Mick's account of the events. He left Fleetwood Mac in August of 1987 after a band meeting that quickly turned ugly and it was widely reported in the media as well. Lindsey was working on his third solo album and he had to put it aside to work on Tango. Out of The Cradle wasn't released until 1992. The lines, "advance was spent some time ago, agents on the phone" could be referring to Lindsey's record company wondering where his album was and what was the delay. It could also be referring to Mick's book and the advance he got for writing it. Others feel that it's a dig at agents and their ability to make people do things which they normally wouldn't do.

Young Mr. Rockcock, where do you belong? The man
ain't got no answer, the man just got it wrong
"Young Mr. Rockcock" could be Lindsey referring to himself. It's been well documented that John McVie especially found Lindsey young and brash in the early days when he and Stevie first joined the band and they did butt heads in the studio on occasion. Lindsey could also be talking about the stereotypical rock star persona. "Where do you belong?" is Lindsey asking himself what he should do after Fleetwood Mac. What is his role in the music world? He's also trying to figure out what role he played while he was in the band, since Mick downplayed that role in his book. "The man" in this verse could refer to Mick Fleetwood. He definitely downplayed Lindsey's contributions to the band, so therefore Mick got it wrong.

Leisure line to heaven, puttin' on the hits.
Here we have another, another piece of glitz
In these lines, Lindsey is possibly lashing out at the music industry's view of what an artist should be. The industry wants it's rock stars to put out one hit after another, (puttin on the hits) no matter what the cost, no matter if you have to compromise your own beliefs and ideas. Lindsey didn't compromise himself and he is angry that this is what the standard is. Lindsey has said on numerous occasions that the industry believes the old adage that "if something works, run it into the ground." Or this could be Mick looking at Lindsey as that "leisure line to heaven" because he was shaping the sound of Fleetwood Mac and he was producing the band's hits. Mick knew that as long as Lindsey was producing the band, there would be hit albums. Someone also suggested that "leisure line to heaven" was a reference to Stevie. She was the hitmaker. To Lindsey, she had it easy while he fashioned her songs into hits. The last two lines, "here we have another, another piece of glitz," may be associating Mick's book with the indulgence of the past lifestyles they all had in the band. Or it could be Lindsey's view of what the record company thought about his solo albums or maybe even Tusk.

Young Mr. Rockcock, where do you belong? The man
ain't got no answer, the man just got it wrong
Lindsey is once again asking what his role in the music business is. Where does he belong in all of this? In this line, "the man" is probably referring to the record industry.

Looking through the keyhole, did I see another
piggy in the middle, piggy on the cover
Usually Lindsey's lyrics are somewhat vague and unclear as to the meaning, but these lines are very revealing. The consensus is that Lindsey is definitely referring to Mick Fleetwood. "Looking through the keyhole" may be a veiled reference to the fact that Lindsey knew all along that Mick and Stevie were having an affair. He was "looking through the keyhole" way back in 1975 when he asked Mick outright if there was something going on with him and Stevie. Mick also refers to this in his book. He talks about how he and Lindsey were smoking a joint together after a gig one night and they got to talking man to man. Mick said they were both sitting there and straight out of the blue Lindsey turned to him and said, "It's you and Stevie, isn't it?" "Piggy in the middle" is a phrase that Mick used as the title to Chapter 7 in his book. This is also the chapter that dealt with the Lindsey/Stevie breakup and the Mick/Stevie affair. Also, Mick used this phrase to describe his role as a go between for the two couples in the band. "Piggy on the cover" is an obvious reference to the cover of Mick's book. Lindsey calls Mick the "piggy on the cover" either because he thought that Mick's actions in 1977 (especially his affair with Stevie) were in poor taste or because Mick's book was a mud-slinging affair or perhaps both.

Young Mr. Rockcock, where do you belong? The man
ain't got no answer, the man just got it wrong
Once again, "the man" is a reference to Mick. Lindsey is saying that Mick got it "Wrong" in his book.

There you have it :-)

(The interpretations to these lyrics were compiled through discussions on the message boards of the Penguin, The Ledge. It is entirely possible that the artists had something completely different in mind.)

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(C) 1992 Now Sounds Music ASCAP/Putz Tunes BMI

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    Last Modified »
2008-08-04

    Discography Credits »
Lyrics contributed by Welsh. Interpretation prepared by Ann, Lauren, Travis, Les, Stephanie M, Janet, Silver Springs, Anusha, and Ali.