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Song Stories

“Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)”

Fleetwood Mac | 1975

After reading a novel about a Welsh witch named Rhiannon, Stevie Nicks not only wrote this song but she also altered her stage persona, taking to wearing black outfits with chiffon lace. "I see her as a good witch. Very positive," Nicks told Rolling Stone of the song's protagonist. "I sink into that whole trip when I'm onstage." Later, as people began to believe Nicks was a sorceress herself, she stopped wearing black for about three years. "I was freaked out that somebody would come and kidnap me because I was a witch," she said.

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“White Winter Hymnal”
Fleet Foxes | 2008
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“Shake It Out”
Florence and the Machine | 2011

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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