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Once in a Million Years, a Lady like Her Rises

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» Rhiannon Lyrics » Stevie Nicks: In Her Own Words » Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" 1976

Stevie Nicks is one of my favorite songwriters, and her song “Rhiannon” has always had a special meaning for me. Nicks wrote “Rhiannon” before she, and then boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, joined Fleetwood Mac. It was October 1974, and she was spending some time in Aspen, Colorado. She had just read a book called Triad, and was intrigued by one of the characters names, Rhiannon. With only the knowledge of the beautiful name, Nicks sat down and wrote what we now know as one of her most famous songs.

            Nicks later learned that Rhiannon is part of an old Celtic mythological story called The Mabinogion. In the story, Rhiannon is a goddess of horses and birds. She has three birds: one green, one white, and one yellow. Anytime you have pain, it is said that you will hear Rhiannon singing, and you will slowly slip into a deep sleep. When you awake, your pain will be gone, and if you are lucky you will see Rhiannon turning around to say, “Everything is going to be okay.”

            I have seen Nicks in concert many times over the past few years, both as a solo artist and with Fleetwood Mac. At every concert, she has performed “Rhiannon.” Listening to the song on my stereo and hearing it live are two different experiences for me. As soon as Nicks walks onstage wearing her black chiffon and black suede boots, she becomes the legendary Rhiannon.

            As Nicks sings, “All your life, you’ve never seen a woman – taken by the wind. Would you stay if she promised you heaven, will you ever win,” I am instantly lifted up and any pain or hardship I am feeling immediately goes away. Buckingham’s guitar mimics Rhiannon’s birds taking flight and Nicks’s chiffon wings take me with her into her fairytale world, and for those few moments, I forget everything that is worrying me.

            If I were to go back in time and see one musical performance, I would definitely go back and watch Nicks embody “Rhiannon” on the Rumours tour of 1977.  In the 1993 Disney documentary on Fleetwood Mac, drummer Mick Fleetwood said: “When she laid into that song, she gave herself. She was basically possessed. There was Janis there…it was serious stuff.”

            Nicks and Rhiannon cast their magical spell over me with each performance and for those brief moments, they take away my pain and give me hope.