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Fireflies Lyrics

To be the last to leave...
The last to be gone
Stolen from the ones
Who held onto him
To be the last in line
From the ones that live on
Silhouette of a dream
treasured by the ones
who held on to him

Almost a breakdown
Of our love affair...
the stiletto cuts quick
Like a whip thru the air
Long distance winners
Will we survive the flight
Not one of us runs
from the firelight
And I would love to believe
I believe what you say
But in the drama of the moment
Oh well there is no easy way
No-one ever leaves
everyone stays close 'til the fire fades

To be the last to leave
Well, what caused the fearsome
divorce in the night
When there was no competition
Well to survive, do it right
and you can believe in the five
to survive the distance
Everyone fights...everyone fights....
and the fire flies

Well what happened to my feelings....
there were angry words in the night
Some call it our nightmare
My five fireflies
Oh like a sailing ship...
but not one of us runs..
OOooohhh -why...

It's our love affair
It cuts like a whip thru the air
And I would love to believe
To believe what you say
Song Info
Submitted by
oofus On Jun 06, 2001
3 Meanings

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Cover art for Fireflies lyrics by Fleetwood Mac

The last part of the lyrics are wrong, I read the sheet music to it. Instead of:

"Well what happened to my feelings.... there were angry words in the night"

It's: "At risk to my feelings, we are dreamers in the night, some call it my nightmare, but my five fire flies. Like a sailing ship not one of us runs......everyone stays and the fire never fades"

One of the most beautiful songs I ever heard in my life.

Cover art for Fireflies lyrics by Fleetwood Mac

I think it's about Stevie's affair with Mick, which happened around the time this song was written & recorded. Of course it's a beautiful song, ("Everyone stays close 'til the fire fades...") You an attach your own personal meaning to the song ... that's the brilliance of Stevie's songs.

@bingoboy It's about Fleetwood Mac. And it was written during the Tusk period when they were having tough time again. It's a little like Chriss McVie's "Songbird" or Nicks's another gem "The Chain" - well, I know that this song was written about her relationship with Buckingham that was leading to an end, but with time it's got another interpretation that refers to the band and that - apart from struggles and other problems - they won't break the chain. That's why they opened with that song every performance on a Dance tour....

@bingoboy Gee I need to reply again because I was wrong informed about the meaning of "The Chain" then. So yes, "The Chain" was created as a song about the band too - that's what Chris McVie said and that's what also Stevie said. But Nicks also admitted that she's singing in it about her breake up with Lindlsey too but in general "The Chain" was written about FM and that they will never get apart in spite of many problems. Stevie was the only one who truely wanted to keep the band together and that's why she was having...

Cover art for Fireflies lyrics by Fleetwood Mac

It's beautiful, of course. My third favorite song that Stevie wrote. It's about the band trying to keep together "Do you believe in the five?" reflecting her, Buckingham, the McVies and Fleetwood. It also reflects her years with Buckingham. She references "long distance winners." "Long Distance Winner" is the name of one of the more famous songs off of the "Buckingham Nicks" album, along with "Frozen Love," "Crying in the Night" and "Crystal," which Fleetwood Mac would later redo in their "White Album."

But the song is much broader, it's about any group that's trying to keep together despite the weight of the world. It's about trying to come together and remember why they were fighting for something in the first place.

My Interpretation

@adaminoacids32 I like your idea of the line "long distance winners" but in that case I think it has different meaning. While "Long Distance Winner" is about Lindsley's toxic treatment towards her, in this song she calls the rest of the band the "lond distance winners". And I think it makes sense beacuse in that song is "winner" - just one person (Lindsley) while here we have "winners" - plural which could refer all memeber from Fleetwood Mac. And while in "Long Distance Winner" she sings how Lindsley's is unpredictable and she cannot figure him out, in "Fireflies" she sings...

 
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