Stevie Nicks Thanks Taylor Swift for This ‘Midnights’ Song That Helped Her Grieve Christine McVie
Taylor Swift has a fan in Stevie Nicks, especially after one of her newest songs hit very close to home for the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman. At a recent performance, Nicks publicly thanked the “Anti-Hero” singer for writing “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” which she explained has helped her mourn her late friend and bandmate Christine McVie.
“Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing a favor for me, and that is, writing a song called ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid,'” Nicks began, addressing fans in Atlanta from onstage. “That is the sadness of how I feel.”
The 74-year-old musician went on to reflect on how close she and McVie were during their friendship, even through periods of separation. “Even on the other side of the world, we didn’t have to talk on the phone,” the “Edge of Seventeen” singer explained. “And then we’d go back to Fleetwood Mac and we’d walk in and just be like, ‘Little sister, how are you.’ It was like never a minute had passed. Never an argument in our entire 47 years.”
Now that Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird” is gone, Nicks shared that she keenly relates to the specific kind of loneliness described in Swift’s Midnights track. “The two of us were on our own, kids,” she said, referencing the song’s chorus. “We always were. And now, I’m having to learn to be on my own, kid, by myself. You helped me to do that. Thank you.”
McVie passed away at age 79 in November after suffering a stroke, with a secondary cause of death found to be cancer. At the time, the members of Fleetwood Mac released a joint statement mourning their longtime keyboardist, writing, “She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure … the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life.”
Co-written and produced by Jack Antonoff for Swift’s 10th studio album, “You’re on Your Own, Kid” isn’t the first song that Nicks has connected with since the death of her friend. On the day McVie died, the “Silver Springs” songwriter penned a personal tribute, borrowing lyrics from Haim’s “Hallelujah”: “You were there to protect me like a shield/ Long hair, running with me through the field/ Everywhere, you’ve been with me all along.”
“See you on the other side, my love,” she’d added in the note. “Don’t forget me.”
Watch the sweet moment Stevie Nicks shouted out Taylor Swift below, and listen to “You’re on Your Own, Kid” here.
Hannah Dailey
Billboard
