Song
Rhiannon
Fleetwood Mac
Album:
Fleetwood Mac
Song meaning of Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
During her live performances, Nicks would frequently begin the song by stating, "This is a song about an old Welsh witch."
Early in the 1970s, Nicks came across the Rhiannon character in Mary Bartlet Leader's book Triad. The protagonist of the book is a witch named Rhiannon who has taken possession of a woman named Branwen. The book mentions the Welsh legend of Rhiannon, although its characters are not at all like their original Welsh namesakes (Rhinogion's mediaeval Welsh prose tales have both Rhiannon and Branwen as prominent female characters).
When Nicks discovered in early 1978 that Rhiannon was descended from a Welsh goddess, she was astounded to find that the eerie lyrics from her song also applied to the Welsh Rhiannon. This was after she had written the song.
The song peaked at number eleven on the U.S. chart in June 1976. Re-released in February 1978, the song spent three weeks on the UK singles chart, where it peaked at number 46.
Lyrics of Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn't you love to love her?
Takes to the sky like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover?
All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
Will you ever win?
She is like a cat in the dark
And then she is the darkness
She rules her life like a fine skylark
And when the sky is starless
All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
Will you ever win?
Will you ever win?
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
She rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn't you love to love her?
She rules her life like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover?
All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
Will you ever win?
Will you ever win?
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Oooooh
Taken by
Taken by the sky
Taken by
Taken by the sky
Taken by
Taken by the sky
Dreams unwind
Love's a state of mind
Dreams unwind
Love's a state of mind
Release Date
1976
Songwriter/s
Stevie Nicks
Producer/s
Fleetwood Mac, Keith Olsen
Label/s
Reprise