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Few songs completely hypnotize me more than Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs.” The song was written by Stevie Nicks, a fact evident in every note. The piece is so intrinsically Stevie, with its soft plunking piano and tender bass undertones on which her voice glides precariously. The beginning of the song feels so delicate, like her voice is a glass vase teetering on the edge of a table. “Silver Springs” is a song that builds, however, and by the end “fragile” is perhaps the last word I’d use to describe it. Nicks’ voice is now laden with burning intensity as she cries out, “I’ll follow you down ‘til the sound of my voice will haunt you.” Just reading the lyrics is enough to send a chill up your spine, but to actually hear Nicks’ wails of anguish makes my heart stop and my breath catch. I am unmoving as a wave of awe washes over me. Nicks’ ability to relay her emotions through song is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. It feels as though Nicks has reached into my chest and is clutching my heart in her hands. And yet, “Silver Springs” was ultimately excluded from Fleetwood Mac’s 1976 album, Rumours.
The last-minute dismissal of “Silver Springs” lies in its slow tempo and length. Perhaps its omission also lies in the subject matter, for it was written about Nicks’ agonizing breakup with longtime partner and fellow bandmate Lindsey Buckingham. Whatever the reason may be, the exclusion of “Silver Springs” infuriated Stevie and marked the continuously growing tensions within the band. It would still be released, but only as the B-side to Buckingham’s own song about the breakup, “Go Your Own Way.” Whether or not it was intentional, Nicks had been snubbed. The rejection of “Silver Springs” would only add fuel to the already searing forest fire that was Nicks’ fury.
The song would eventually be formally released in 1992 in the Fleetwood Mac box set, “25 Years - The Chain.” Fifteen years later, the song would still prove to be a sore spot for the band. Nicks had wanted to include “Silver Springs” on her own 1991 album, Timespace, but was denied permission because of its inclusion in the box set. Out of anger and frustration over the loss of her own song, Nicks would leave Fleetwood Mac. In 2004, “Silver Springs” would finally appear on the remastered edition of Rumours, as well as Nicks’ compilation album, Crystal Visions.
For practically her entire career, Nicks’ image has been linked with magic and witchcraft. Her black clothes, dripping sleeves, and whimsical way of being prompted many to believe her a witch - something she has repeatedly rebuffed. She insists that her fascination with witchcraft is solely aesthetically and that she enjoys the imagery but doesn’t practice it. In fact, for some time, Nicks abandoned her black garbs, instead opting for colorful clothes in apricots and whites in an attempt to evade her witchy image. She had received countless letters filled with hate for her and her Wiccan style, leading her to fear for her safety. The contempt for witches is an intrinsic part of human history, rooted in ignorance and fear of anything purportedly un-Christian, and it is a prejudice that Nicks has continuously fallen victim to.
Nicks’ magical image has led many to suspect that “Silver Springs” is not just a song but a spell. The rationale behind this argument lies in the lyrics - the magic of “Silver Springs” boils down to these three lines:
“I’ll follow you down til’ the sound of my voice will haunt you
Give me just a chance, you’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you
Time cast a spell on you but you won’t forget me”
Three lines of verbal daggers dripping venom hurled at Lindsey Buckingham, or perhaps they were something more. Many believe that Nicks meant these lines literally. That, for breaking her heart, Buckingham would never escape her. He would never escape the sound of her voice - he would always be haunted by Nicks’ music. In every shop or restaurant he entered, her songs would be playing. Every time he turned on the radio, he would hear the voice of the woman he had scorned. He would not, and could not, ever forget her because her voice, her music, would forever and always remain a constant presence in his life and something he could never evade.
This theory was furthered by the 1997 performance of “Silver Springs” during Fleetwood Mac's reunion concert, The Dance. As Nicks sings her heart-wrenching lyrics, she stares daggers at Buckingham standing beside her. Her voice seems to cut right through him, directly into his soul. Her brows are furrowed in anger, or perhaps concentration, as she cries out, “Was I such a fool?” All the more intriguing is Buckingham’s physicality - beginning with the occasional glance in her direction and ending with him turning directly towards her, staring right back as if he could not look at anything else. As if he were under a spell. It makes this already heavily moving piece infinitely more poignant. My hair stands on end with every watch.
I would not hesitate to call “Silver Springs” a masterpiece. It is one of a handful of songs that brings tears to my eyes with every single listen. It never loses its power or intensity, regardless of how many times I play it on end. Stevie Nicks is a master of songwriting who harbors an ineffable ability to capture her emotions in song, and one needs only to look at “Silver Springs” to understand this.
Silver Springs is the single best song Fleetwood Mac ever recorded IMHO. It is their Hey Jude, but the band didn’t realize what a gem they had!