Cheaper Than Free

Album: In Your Dreams (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Nicks and producer Dave Stewart singing, "What's more important than freedom?/Being needed." She explained the inspiration for the song to Spinner UK: "We went to Village Recorders [in L.A.] to do our basic drum and bass tracks, and Reese Witherspoon came down. Dave was going to be taking a week in Nashville to do some recording, and she said, 'Well, I have a condo there, and if you want to stay there, you can.' I said, 'That would be cheap, Dave.' And Reese said, 'What's cheaper than free?' And Dave Stewart and Stevie Nicks looked at each other and went, 'Oh my God! What a great country song this could be.'"

    Nicks continued: "I thought it was going to be a tongue-in-cheek goofy song, and it ended up to be anything but. We were both very surprised. I believe in my heart that that song will live on forever. I said to everybody, 'We have to really treat this song with kid gloves, because this may be the best song that Dave Stewart and Stevie Nicks ever does.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Donny Osmond

Donny OsmondSongwriter Interviews

Donny Osmond talks about his biggest hits, his Vegas show, and the fan who taught him to take "Puppy Love" seriously.

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.