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 Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Don Felder

Don FelderSongwriter Interviews

Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)Songwriter Interviews

Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.