Stevie Nicks Demanded Lindsey Buckingham Remove a Line From ‘Go Your Own Way’ About Their Breakup but He Refused

Fleetwood Mac released “Go Your Own Way,” a song written by Lindsey Buckingham somewhat about his relationship with Stevie Nicks. One problem that Nicks had with the song, however, was lyrics that weren’t true to their life. Here’s what we know about the Rumours original. 

Fleetwood Mac released ‘Go Your Own Way’ on their album ‘Rumours’

Fleetwood Mac released “Dreams,” “Gypsy,” “Gold Dust Woman” and other fan favorites. Included in Rumours, “Go Your Own Way” was written by Buckingham. The song details a relationship between two people where one person gives the other permission to move on. 

“You can go your own way,” the artists sing in the chorus. “Go your own way / You can call it another lonely day / You can go your own way / Go your own way.”

Stevie Nicks wanted Lindsey Buckingham to remove the ‘shacking up’ lyrics from ‘Go Your Own Way’

“Go Your Own Way” mostly told the story of his relationship with Nicks — even if the song’s story wasn’t entirely true. Although Nicks asked Buckingham to remove the line, “Packing up, shacking up’s all you wanna do,” he refused.

“He knew it wasn’t true,” Nicks said to Rolling Stone, according to Music Spotlight Magazine. “It was just an angry thing that he said.” 

Nicks wasn’t cheating on her relationship with Buckingham, although their romantic involvement ended. However, this wouldn’t be the only time Buckingham wrote about Nicks. “Second Hand News” included the line, “One thing I think you should know, I ain’t gonna miss you when you go.”

According to Spotify, the track was produced by Christine McVie, John McVie, Ken Caillat, Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Richard Dashut, and Nicks. The track holds over 685 million Spotify plays, making it one of the most popular songs from Rumours.

Stevie Nicks wrote ‘Storms,’ ‘Dreams,’ and ‘Sisters of the Moon’

Much of Nicks’ and Buckingham’s personal life was illuminated through music. “Dreams,” written by Nicks, was about the end of her relationship with the songwriter. “Storms” was written about Nicks’ relationship with band member Mick Fleetwood. 

In Storms: My Life with Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham’s then-girlfriend, Carol Ann Harris, shared her perspective on music written by Nicks (and edited by Buckingham).   

“He tore it apart,” Harris wrote, according to Music Spotlight Magazine. “By the time he was finished dissecting everything in detail about what was wrong with the song, he smiled serenely and said, ‘I like it, Stevie. It just needs some work.’ The end result was always the same: a snarling, vicious battle over her music.”

Music by Fleetwood Mac is available on most major streaming platforms.