The songbird is still singing. Stevie Nicks opened up about how she’s been coping after Christine McVie’s death — and gave Taylor Swift a shout-out in the process.
The 74-year-old Fleetwood Mac singer performed at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on Monday, May 22, pausing briefly during the concert to thank Swift, 32, for one powerful song on her latest album, Midnights. “Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing a favor for me, and that is, writing a song called ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid,’” Nicks told the crowd. “That is the sadness of how I feel.”
She went on to describe her decades-long friendship with McVie, who died in November 2022 at the age of 79. “Even on the other side of the world, we didn’t have to talk on the phone. We really weren’t, you know, phone buddies,” the “Edge of Seventeen” singer confessed. “We’d go back to Fleetwood Mac, and we’d walk in and just be like, ‘Little sister, how are you?’ It was like never a minute had passed. Never an argument in our entire 47 years — never.”
Nicks concluded her tribute, saying, “When it was the two of us, the two of us were on our own, kids. We always were, and now, I’m having learn to be on my own, kid, by myself. You helped me do that. Thank you.”
McVie’s cause of death was revealed last month, with her death certificate citing a stroke and secondary cause of cancer. When the British musician’s family announced her passing last fall, their statement noted that she suffered “a short illness.”
Fleetwood Mac began in the late ’60s with Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Christine — who was married to John from 1968 to 1976 — officially joined the band in 1970. Five years later, Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham took the place of Green and Spencer. Rumours, which was Nicks’ second album with the band, has since become one of the most iconic rock albums of all time.
When news broke of Christine’s death, Nicks was one of the first to share her public condolences. “A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away. I didn’t even know she was ill… until late Saturday night. I wanted to be in London. I wanted to get to London—but we were told to wait,” she wrote in a letter shared via Instagram in November 2022. “So, since Saturday, one song has been swirling around in my head, over and over and over. I thought I might possibly get to sing it to her, and so, I’m singing it to her now. I always knew I would need these words one day.”
The Grammy winner proceeded to quote lyrics from Haim’s 2020 song “Hallelujah.”
Swift, meanwhile, released “You’re On Your Own, Kid” in October 2022. The ballad quickly became a fan favorite for its emotional lyrics and storytelling. “‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned / Everything you lose is a step you take / So, make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it,” she sings. “You’ve got no reason to be afraid / You’re on your own, kid / Yeah, you can face this / You’re on your own, kid / You always have been.”
