Songfacts®:

• This ode to misplaced love and owning mistakes was written by Stevie Nicks around 1979. It was demoed for the Fleetwood Mac Tusk album as well as Nicks' own Bella Donna and Rock a Little sets. However, it remained unreleased until the song was re-recorded for the singer's collection of unreleased tunes from her back catalogue, 24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault.
• It was my fault, my move, my game
  If I'd known a little more, I'd a run away
  It was dark out and I held the cards
  I was the dealer and it wasn't hard
  
  In "The Dealer," Stevie Nicks gives us a peek into the backstage of her life, and as it turns out, she's not just playing the game - she's dealing the cards. She reflects on her experiences in the music industry and personal life, acknowledging the power she held in making decisions. The trouble with being the dealer, though, is that you don't always know what's coming next. In this case, Nicks realizes that while she held the cards, she might not have played them as well as she thought. The song weaves card game metaphors throughout, exploring the tricky balance between control and fate, and, of course, the complicated mess of relationships.
• "The Dealer" features contributions from Fleetwood Mac members, with John McVie on bass, Mick Fleetwood on drums, and Christine McVie on keyboards. Nicks recorded her vocals in an isolation booth, which allowed for a unique sound that reflects her evolving musical style.
• Nicks released "The Dealer" as the lead single from 24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault. "The reason I called the record 24 Karat Gold is because when first met Mick Fleetwood he wore this beautiful jewelry made out of 24-carat gold, this yellow gold that's very heavy and beautiful," she recalled to Uncut magazine. "Lindsey and I had never seen anything made out of that in our life and I was so taken by this jewelry that I immediately started my own collection, right up when I joined Fleetwood Mac. So when I look at all these songs, I felt they were my 24-carat gold songs. They were my golden songs."