Why Creating Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Say You Love Me’ Was an Unforgettable Moment for Christine McVie

Christine McVie created “Say You Love Me” for Fleetwood Mac, thanks to some harmony help from other band members. During a recent interview, she detailed creating the Rumours original, describing “Say You Love Me” as an “unforgettable” songwriting moment.

Christine McVie wrote ‘Songbird’ for Fleetwood Mac

They’re the band behind “Don’t Stop,” “Go Your Own Way,” “As Long As You Follow,” and “Dreams.” There were several Fleetwood Mac lineup changes, with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joining the rock band together.

Christine McVie, the self-proclaimed “Mother Teresa” of the group, created “Songbird” for Rumours. McVie also functioned as a keyboard player and vocalist for the band, later elaborating on some of her creative processes. 

“That’s the one and only song I wrote and finished in half an hour, in the middle of the night — it was the middle of the night,” McVie said during an interview with Raised on Radio. “And I woke up and I happened to have a little piano in my room but no tape recorder. No means to record it on.” 

Christine McVie described creating ‘Say You Love Me’ for Fleetwood Mac

In the same Raised on Radio interview, the Fleetwood Mac member discussed her original songs. “Songbird” was the quickest song she’s ever created. McVie also wrote “Say You Love Me” for the group.

“I’d written a song called ‘Say You Love Me,’ and I just played it for them but the chorus came, [and] Lindsey and Stevie came piping in with these 3-part harmonies and everybody got goosebumps,” McVie recalled. “I thought it was quite an unbelievable, unforgettable moment.”

“’Cause when the loving starts and the lights go down,” the chorus states. “And there’s not another living soul around / You woo me until the sun comes up / And you say that you love me.”

Spotify credits McVie as the sole songwriter for the 1975 release. “Say You Love Me” was produced by most Fleetwood Mac members — Christine McVie, John McVie, Keith Olsen, Buckingham, Fleetwood, and Nicks. As of November 2022, the track has over 65 million Spotify plays. 

Christine McVie described what made Fleetwood Mac’s music ‘very varied’

With Christine McVie, John McVie, Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, and Nicks in the lineup, several songwriters were responsible for Fleetwood Mac’s hits. All five band members collaborated on Rumours’ “The Chain.” 

Some even wrote songs individually, like Nicks’ “Dreams” and Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way.” That’s part of what Fleetwood Mac’s music so “varied.”

“We all had such different styles,” McVie said in the same interview. “The albums never really got boring because you’d hear a track of Stevie’s, a track of Lindseys, and a track of mine. And it was very varied and easy to listen to.”