Swan Song

Album: Lindsey Buckingham (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • After Fleetwood Mac fired Lindsey Buckingham in January 2018, he blamed Stevie Nicks for his dismissal. He alleged Nicks gave the other band members an ultimatum: either he goes or I go. They decided to kick him out.

    This song finds Buckingham bitter at being cast out of Fleetwood Mac while they embarked on their 2018-2019 swan song tour.
  • Buckingham recorded the track for his 2021 self-titled solo album. "Swan Song," along with another Lindsey Buckingham tune, "Power Down," incorporates uncharacteristic electronic drums and computerized backing vocals. "I wanted to do two songs that felt like a pair," he explained to Uncut magazine. "Those two were done with the same mindset, built for a drum loop, built off the same idea of a background vocal, and suddenly, subject-wise, built off of a certain idea of relationship challenges. So yeah, it all grew out of loops. I sensed right away that because I was making something that was a little more poppy than I'd done in a while, that these would be in a way the counterpoints to that poppiness."
  • Buckingham fashioned "Swan Song" from a demo he'd recorded two decades earlier. Having forgotten about it, he rediscovered the track and embellished it with modern electronic elements.
  • When Buckingham released the eponymous record on September 17, 2021, he credited himself as the sole writer of "Swan Song." Two months later, it was brought to his attention that the tune borrows extensively from "Mind's Eye," penned by Blinker The Star's Jordon Zadorozny and Medicine's Brad Laner in 2000. The track came from a Los Angeles studio session Buckingham did with Zadorozny and Laner, who afterwards handed the then-Fleetwood Mac guitarist a CD of songs they'd written, hoping he'd cover one of them. Buckingham realized that when he'd rediscovered the tune on the CD, he'd forgotten he didn't actually write it. On learning of his mistake, he paid Zadorozny and Laner a flat monetary sum and provided them with co-writing credits and a portion of publishing for his song.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian OrchestraSongwriter Interviews

Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Def Leppard Quiz

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.