The Meaning Behind Christine McVie’s “Spiritual” Fleetwood Mac Song “Songbird”

Fleetwood Mac is a huge force in Rock music, and Christine McVie played an integral role in the band during its most successful years. She wrote and co-wrote some of the biggest Fleetwood Mac songs. Including “Say You Love Me,” “Over My Head,” and “Songbird.”

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Although she wrote some great songs, the meaning behind Christine McVie’s “spiritual” Fleetwood Mac song “Songbird” has a unique story behind it. So, let’s take a look at the connection and also give you some background information about the band and this wonderful song.

A Brief History Of Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac is a combination of British and American musicians. The inaugural members consisted of Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer. Before the first album was cut, they were joined by John McVie on bass. A third guitarist, Danny Kirwan, joined in 1968. Christine McVie joined them, then known as Christine Perfect, in 1970 and went on to marry John McVie.

In 1974, after some coming and goings, including the passing of Peter Green and relocating to America, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks also became band members. Consequently, the classic lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John and Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks was formed.

Fleetwood Mac is a Rock band that still performs today, though without Christine McVie, and has become one of the most successful bands in music history. They have sold over 120 million records and are one of the Top 50 best-selling bands of all time. They have released 42 albums and 62 singles. Their contributions to Rock, and music in general, have been immense.

“Songbird” Chart and Sales Success

“Songbird” was released in 1977 as the B-side to the single “Dreams.” Both of these singles were taken for the incredible album, Rumours, which I will come onto later. As far as “Songbird” and “Dreams” were concerned, they were massive hits.

The single went to #1 on the US Billboard charts and is still their only #1 hit in the US to date. Surprisingly, it only managed #24 in the UK. Sales-wise, it was Fleetwood Mac’s best-performing single. It went multi-platinum in the UK, US, and New Zealand.

So, what about Rumours?

Sales were frankly insane. It’s the 8th best-selling album of all time across all genres. It sold a staggering 40 million copies. Twenty million of these were in the US alone. That means it went double-diamond in America, which is almost unprecedented. Also, it went 15x platinum in the UK, selling four and a half million copies, which again is very rare indeed.

Not surprisingly, chart positions also saw it get to #1 in the US, the UK, and several countries around the world. The 1977 end-of-year charts also saw it in the top spot in the US. And, in the Top 10 in pretty much every country where they had a chart and electricity.

In every respect, this was an iconic and memorable album…

“Songbird” was recorded over 40 years ago. But, it has since achieved chart success, in one form or another, after being covered by several different artists. Most memorably, Eva Cassidy had a compilation album released posthumously following her death from melanoma. The album, titled Songbird, contained the cover of Christie McVie’s classic song. The album deservedly hit the top spot in 2001 in the UK.

Another version of “Songbird” was released in 2006 by the amazing Willie Nelson. Like Eva Cassidy, he also named his album Songbird. The album made it to #87 on the US Billboard charts.

Finally, Shanna Goodhead got to #56 in the UK after performing the song on the dreary UK talent show, “The X Factor.” A good cover but a horrendously boring and facile piece of TV. Don’t watch it.

Recording

It is strange, but so many great songs seem to have been put together in the space of minutes rather than hours. Think about absolute Rock classics like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses and “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath, to name but two. Both of these were written in under thirty minutes, as was “Songbird.”

It was written just before she fell asleep, and she sang it while accompanying herself on an old piano in just one take. Unfortunately, she had no tape recorder or iPhone to record it.

Consequently, she stayed awake all night to keep the song in her head until she could get some recording equipment to lay down a basic demo. Now that is what I call dedication to your craft. All I can say is thank goodness she did. Otherwise, it is a song we may never have heard.

So, why is it considered a “spiritual” song?

Interestingly, McVie has gone on record as saying that when she was writing the song, she felt she had a visitation from her dead mother, Beatrice Edith Maud. And that she was guiding Christine to write the song. McVie claims that this was a first and is something that has never happened since.

It holds special significance because her mother was a spiritual healer and a psychic medium. McVie felt her abilities were real. So, to have her mother connect with her from the afterlife to help her write the song had a profound effect. Knowing this all makes sense because the song undoubtedly has a strong spiritual feel. Therefore, this is explained by her mother’s presence in the songwriting process.

Once the morning came…

Christine McVie took the song to her producer, Ken Callait, and they laid down a copy on a simple two-track recorder. Fortunately, it was a big hit with Ken Callait and McVie’s bandmates. However, they were apparently so spaced out on opium at the time they would probably have loved anything. But that’s another story.

After everyone had come down back down to earth, and at the insistence of Ken Callait, the track was recorded at the Zellerbach Auditorium. He did this to create a theatrical ambiance. Something he further achieved by carefully positioning 15 separate microphones around the venue to maximize the effect.

Lyrics and Meaning

The meaning behind Christine McVie’s “Spiritual” Fleetwood Mac song “Songbird” is not confined to spirituality. The song is quite ambiguous. So, it has a few possible interpretations as to what “Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac means. I will touch briefly upon a couple of these and then move on to the spiritual connotations of Christine McVie’s “Songbird.”

Essentially, “Songbird” is about the selfless love of one person for another. Christine McVie has claimed that it was not specific to any one person. And the rather vague witting style backs this up. No doubt, this is why it is played at different events like weddings, birthdays, and so forth.

Interestingly, Mick Fleetwood was so enamored with it, and the deeper meaning of “Songbird” that he wants it played at his funeral. A good choice, but I am sticking with “Celebration” from ‘Kool and The Gang.’

Despite the ambiguity of the lyrics…

It is fair to say that the first verse could easily be interpreted as the love of a woman for a man. This alludes to the person no longer crying and only experiencing sunshine as an indication of her love for him.

Furthermore, the song expresses the feelings about never being cold to your loved one and wanting to give them the world. It is another sign of one person’s deep, selfless, and unconditional love for another.

The chorus introduces songbirds and proclamations of love, which are crammed into just two lines. If you have any doubt whatsoever that this might not be a love song, you can put that to one side at this point.

The song continues with similar expressions of love…

It is a touching and deeply romantic Fleetwood Mac song. However, there is undoubtedly a second meaning to the song “Songbird” – these feelings are not reciprocated in the same way. She directly references this point. And she states somewhat sadly that she wants these feelings of unconditional love from her partner too.

The final line, where she is wishing all the love in the world for him and herself, also has the feeling of a farewell. Therefore, this could give us yet another meaning. This might be a break-up song and a last chance to say goodbye.

Finally, it could also be someone saying goodbye to a loved one as they leave this world…

That brings us back to the song’s spiritual meaning. This last interpretation, given the spiritual nature of Beatrice Edith Maud’s involvement in its composition, and Mick Fleetwood’s desire to have it played at his funeral, makes a lot of sense.

However you choose to interpret it, one thing is for sure. There is a lot of love and raw emotions on display. It doesn’t hold back and gives you an absolute tsunami of love and compassion in just one short song. A masterpiece that, in so many ways, proved to be the focal point of the incredible album, Rumours.

In the Mood for Music that Speaks to the Heart and Soul?

If so, check out our thoughts on the Top Songs about Old Love, the Best Songs About Missing Someone You Love, the Top Songs About Reunited Love and Getting Back Together, the Top Songs About Letting Go of Someone You Love, the Best Goodbye Songs, and the Best Sad Songs for more deeply moving song selections.

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