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The Penguin Discography: Straight Back




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    Song Title »
Straight Back
    Authors »
Stevie Nicks

    Year Written »
1982

    This Performance »
Date Performance 1982-00-00
Running Time 4:17
Sound Clip Listen.
Performers Mick Fleetwood (Drums), Mick Fleetwood (Percussion), John McVie (Bass), Lindsey Buckingham (Guitars), Lindsey Buckingham (Vocals), Lindsey Buckingham (Additional Keyboards), Christine McVie (Keyboards), Christine McVie (Vocals), Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Ray(mond) Lindsey (Additional Guitar), Richard Dashut (Produced By), Ken Caillat (Produced By), Fleetwood Mac (Produced By), Lindsey Buckingham (Produced By), Mick Fleetwood (Produced By), John McVie (Produced By), Christine McVie (Produced By), Stevie Nicks (Produced By)
Appears On
Mirage (1982)
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac: Mirage (0000)
Warner Brothers Publications Inc.

    Lyrics »

What can I say this time
Which card shall I play
The dream is not over,
The dream is just away
And you will fly like some little wing straight back to the sun
The dream was never over
The dream has just begun
The dream has just begun

Fingers find the ivory keys
And a song begins to begin l
Like a wolf on the run
And you will find while in the wind something that you lost
The dream was never over, no
The dream was only lost
(Hours and hours of waiting for you,
So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun
(And hours of waiting for you...
In hopes of meeting)
The dream has just begun
(This way)
Well, the dream has just begun

She remembers how good it can be
He remembers a melody
Ah, in the shadow of my shadow in a gleam
He remembers how good it can be
She remembers a melody
Well, in the shadow of my shadow in a gleam
(Hours and hours of waiting for you
So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun
(Hours and hours of waiting this way...
Meeting, me)
Hours of waiting for you
(So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun...
(Meeting this way)
Straight back now
(Hours and hours of waiting
So strong and so fleeting)
Hours and hours waiting this way
Hours and hours of waiting this way
Straight back
Straight back
Straight back... yeah!

He remembers a melody
He remembers how good it can be

    Fan Interpretation »

What can I say this time
Which card shall I play
The dream is not over,
The dream is just away
And you will fly like some little wing straight back to the sun
The dream was never over
The dream has just begun
The dream has just begun

Stevie could be alluding to the difficulties of working within Fleetwood Mac, and how to handle the broken relationships of the band members- she's not sure what to do. Her dreams of making music and being famous, which she had thought to be gone after the trauma of working with the band, had come back with her solo career- so she knows that her dream is just beginning, that she can do both Fleetwood Mac and her solo work. By doing her solo album, she had "flown like a little wing straight back to the sun"- the sun symbolizes freedom and happiness, and in doing what she wants to, making the right move, she can fly "straight back"- that is, without turbulence and problems- to her own happiness.

In a way, this verse could also be about her relationship with any of the men she has been involved with- she doesn't quite know what to do, because it seemed that the relationship was over, but she still holds it so close to her heart that in trying to forget it, it had become even more important to her. She has her independence for the time being (she is the "little wing"), but during that time she realizes that the relationship isn't over at all, or that she doesn't want it to be.

Fingers find the ivory keys
And a song begins to begin
Like a wolf on the run
And you will find while in the wind something that you lost
The dream was never over, no
The dream was only lost
(Hours and hours of waiting for you,
So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun
(And hours of waiting for you...
In hopes of meeting)
The dream has just begun
(This way)
Well, the dream has just begun

In the first part of this verse, Stevie writes about herself- she remembers what she had set out to do while she writes music. Stevie's style of writing songs is instinctive- "like a wolf on the run." In writing, she remembers what her dreams are. She realizes that even though they may have seemed to have been gone, they are not. Her dreams of love are still attainable, if she is willing to forget the hours of waiting (the problems of their relationship) for the man in question. This is really hard for her, however- the memories are too "strong and fleeting"- and she remembers that at least one of her dreams is just beginning- her music. She's waiting for her love life to catch up with her career- and her music is showing her the way.

Another thought on this verse was that Fleetwood Mac's dreams of playing together are not lost, and as she finds her place in the band again, they get the magic back. Their hopes for the future are not lost, in playing together again they realize that it's not the end of the band, it's just the beginning. Everyone had thought that since both Stevie and Lindsey's solo careers were going so well Fleetwood Mac would be pushed aside, but they realize that this is not the case at all while cutting the new album. "The dream was just away"- Fleetwood Mac was just on hiatus.

She remembers how good it can be
He remembers a melody
Ah, in the shadow of my shadow in a gleam
He remembers how good it can be
She remembers a melody
Well, in the shadow of my shadow in a gleam
(Hours and hours of waiting for you
So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun
(Hours and hours of waiting this way...
Meeting, me)
Hours of waiting for you
(So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun...
(Meeting this way)
Straight back now
(Hours and hours of waiting
So strong and so fleeting)
Hours and hours waiting this way
Hours and hours of waiting this way
Straight back
Straight back
Straight back... yeah!

Stevie and the man in question remember their past, obviously. But it is only in "the shadow of their shadows...in a gleam" that they are able to remember the good parts- the melody, how good it can be. It is in the farthest part of their subconscious, in a bright shimmer, that those memories are stored, because both Stevie and her man have tried to forget the good things, deny each other, but the dreams they once shared are still there. The memories of waiting, of anger are stronger than the good ones. So Stevie tries to go "straight back"- go on with her life, with nothing in her way. By gaining her independence (again reminiscent of "Dreams"), she is more able to remember the good times, how good it was.

He remembers a melody
He remembers how good it can be

In the end, the man is left trying to remember the good parts of the relationship...Stevie has moved on, she realizes that "the dream" of the relationship is possible only in her dreams, but she, and her man, will now always be able to remember the good parts...how good it was...because they went "straight back to the sun"- to the core of their own happiness, so that they could forget the pain of it...and recall only the melodies of their love.
">Contributors to this interpretation included: Lesley, Hayley, Lauren, Stewy, Villavic, and Rhiannon.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The dream..." What is the dream? What are Stevie Nicks' dreams? What does freedom mean, and does it equal happiness? These questions were pondered while interpreting her song "Straight Back" on The Ledge.

What can I say this time
Which card shall I play
The dream is not over,
The dream is just away
And you will fly like some little wing straight back to the sun
The dream was never over
The dream has just begun
The dream has just begun

Stevie could be alluding to the difficulties of working within Fleetwood Mac, and how to handle the broken relationships of the band members- she's not sure what to do. Her dreams of making music and being famous, which she had thought to be gone after the trauma of working with the band, had come back with her solo career- so she knows that her dream is just beginning, that she can do both Fleetwood Mac and her solo work. By doing her solo album, she had "flown like a little wing straight back to the sun"- the sun symbolizes freedom and happiness, and in doing what she wants to, making the right move, she can fly "straight back"- that is, without turbulence and problems- to her own happiness.

In a way, this verse could also be about her relationship with any of the men she has been involved with- she doesn't quite know what to do, because it seemed that the relationship was over, but she still holds it so close to her heart that in trying to forget it, it had become even more important to her. She has her independence for the time being (she is the "little wing"), but during that time she realizes that the relationship isn't over at all, or that she doesn't want it to be.

Fingers find the ivory keys
And a song begins to begin
Like a wolf on the run
And you will find while in the wind something that you lost
The dream was never over, no
The dream was only lost
(Hours and hours of waiting for you,
So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun
(And hours of waiting for you...
In hopes of meeting)
The dream has just begun
(This way)
Well, the dream has just begun

In the first part of this verse, Stevie writes about herself- she remembers what she had set out to do while she writes music. Stevie's style of writing songs is instinctive- "like a wolf on the run." In writing, she remembers what her dreams are. She realizes that even though they may have seemed to have been gone, they are not. Her dreams of love are still attainable, if she is willing to forget the hours of waiting (the problems of their relationship) for the man in question. This is really hard for her, however- the memories are too "strong and fleeting"- and she remembers that at least one of her dreams is just beginning- her music. She's waiting for her love life to catch up with her career- and her music is showing her the way.

Another thought on this verse was that Fleetwood Mac's dreams of playing together are not lost, and as she finds her place in the band again, they get the magic back. Their hopes for the future are not lost, in playing together again they realize that it's not the end of the band, it's just the beginning. Everyone had thought that since both Stevie and Lindsey's solo careers were going so well Fleetwood Mac would be pushed aside, but they realize that this is not the case at all while cutting the new album. "The dream was just away"- Fleetwood Mac was just on hiatus.

She remembers how good it can be
He remembers a melody
Ah, in the shadow of my shadow in a gleam
He remembers how good it can be
She remembers a melody
Well, in the shadow of my shadow in a gleam
(Hours and hours of waiting for you
So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun
(Hours and hours of waiting this way...
Meeting, me)
Hours of waiting for you
(So strong and so fleeting)
The dream has just begun...
(Meeting this way)
Straight back now
(Hours and hours of waiting
So strong and so fleeting)
Hours and hours waiting this way
Hours and hours of waiting this way
Straight back
Straight back
Straight back... yeah!

Stevie and the man in question remember their past, obviously. But it is only in "the shadow of their shadows...in a gleam" that they are able to remember the good parts- the melody, how good it can be. It is in the farthest part of their subconscious, in a bright shimmer, that those memories are stored, because both Stevie and her man have tried to forget the good things, deny each other, but the dreams they once shared are still there. The memories of waiting, of anger are stronger than the good ones. So Stevie tries to go "straight back"- go on with her life, with nothing in her way. By gaining her independence (again reminiscent of "Dreams"), she is more able to remember the good times, how good it was.

He remembers a melody
He remembers how good it can be

In the end, the man is left trying to remember the good parts of the relationship...Stevie has moved on, she realizes that "the dream" of the relationship is possible only in her dreams, but she, and her man, will now always be able to remember the good parts...how good it was...because they went "straight back to the sun"- to the core of their own happiness, so that they could forget the pain of it...and recall only the melodies of their love.

(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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    Comments »

(C) 1982 Fleetwood Mac Music (BMI)/Welsh Witch Music (BMI) All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

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    Last Modified »
2008-05-12

    Discography Credits »
Interpretation prepared by Lesley.