You have to understand what happened BEFORE this song was written to understand the song. This song comes from the album Tusk. Tusk was the follow up to the extremely successful Rumors. So, the expectations for Tusk to succeed as much as Rumors.
Lindsey Buckingham was one of the driving forces (clearly Stevie Nicks & Christie McVie were songwriters and created the success as well); he FELT the PRESSURE of trying to make Tusk a great album, too. The band agreed ultimately to release it as a double album. Lindsey B was heavy handed when guiding the group through his songs. There's well-documented stories of him acting out at the expense of others. For instance, one time the band had to wait outside the studio for Lindsey B to figure out how they would record the songs he had in mind. During this time, Lindsey B. was even criticized for simply shaving his beard off and cutting his hair shorter, because the rest of the guys (including the engineers) had long hair and beards (like they did for Rumors).
That's the background.
Lindsey was trying so hard to make Tusk another excellent album that after getting some resistance (some deserved, but some unfairly) he just felt like giving up. That's the inspiration of this song!
He sings,
"I call for everyone
I cry for more
That's all for everyone"
LATER he says
"I can't stay
I can't deceive
That's all for everyone"
So, he is saying, he tried to lead, but came up short, and now, he wants to give up. "I call for everyone" & "I can't stay/I can't deceive" means he knows how hard he was trying to lead, and even HE KNEW THAT HE WASN'T SUCCEEDING.
He sings,
"That's all
I need someone to know."
What he means is something we can relate to! After we mess up and are criticized, we want, we need to be understood.
There was even some guilt at not succeeding like before. That he was being misunderstood by those around him as they made Tusk.
He repeats and sings, "must be just exactly what I need."
This can be interpreted 2 ways. One is, since he knew he came up short; he needs to try again in a new way. The thing he "needs" is to change.
Another way to interpret, "must be just exactly what I need" is that he feels some guilt, and even thinks he deserves some criticism.
Lindsey B remarks about Tusk, "For me, being sort of the culprit behind that particular album, it was done in a way to undermine just sort of following the formula of doing Rumours 2 and Rumours 3, which is kind of the business model Warner Bros. would have liked us to follow,"
Yet, 42 years after Tusk and this song was made, they deserve praise that Tusk, this song receives!! Millions have heard Tusk, maybe not as many heard "That's All for Everyone."
In general, the beauty of a great album, of a great CD are the sublime songs in the album that don't go Top 40 in Billboard and aren't well known.
"That's All for Everyone" is such a beautiful "gold nugget" in this double album.
We all can relate to wanting to succeed but then coming up short. I can relate to Lindsey B singing about giving up. Yet, he didn't. No, he's not in the band now, but think of all the Fleetwood Mac albums, concerts done after Tusk. After this song, "That's All for Everyone"
Lindsey's remarks come from https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6769970/fleetwood-mac-tusk-lindsey-buckingham-interview-alternate-song-premiere
You have to understand what happened BEFORE this song was written to understand the song. This song comes from the album Tusk. Tusk was the follow up to the extremely successful Rumors. So, the expectations for Tusk to succeed as much as Rumors. Lindsey Buckingham was one of the driving forces (clearly Stevie Nicks & Christie McVie were songwriters and created the success as well); he FELT the PRESSURE of trying to make Tusk a great album, too. The band agreed ultimately to release it as a double album. Lindsey B was heavy handed when guiding the group through his songs. There's well-documented stories of him acting out at the expense of others. For instance, one time the band had to wait outside the studio for Lindsey B to figure out how they would record the songs he had in mind. During this time, Lindsey B. was even criticized for simply shaving his beard off and cutting his hair shorter, because the rest of the guys (including the engineers) had long hair and beards (like they did for Rumors).
That's the background. Lindsey was trying so hard to make Tusk another excellent album that after getting some resistance (some deserved, but some unfairly) he just felt like giving up. That's the inspiration of this song! He sings, "I call for everyone I cry for more That's all for everyone" LATER he says "I can't stay I can't deceive That's all for everyone"
So, he is saying, he tried to lead, but came up short, and now, he wants to give up. "I call for everyone" & "I can't stay/I can't deceive" means he knows how hard he was trying to lead, and even HE KNEW THAT HE WASN'T SUCCEEDING. He sings, "That's all I need someone to know." What he means is something we can relate to! After we mess up and are criticized, we want, we need to be understood.
There was even some guilt at not succeeding like before. That he was being misunderstood by those around him as they made Tusk.
He repeats and sings, "must be just exactly what I need." This can be interpreted 2 ways. One is, since he knew he came up short; he needs to try again in a new way. The thing he "needs" is to change. Another way to interpret, "must be just exactly what I need" is that he feels some guilt, and even thinks he deserves some criticism. Lindsey B remarks about Tusk, "For me, being sort of the culprit behind that particular album, it was done in a way to undermine just sort of following the formula of doing Rumours 2 and Rumours 3, which is kind of the business model Warner Bros. would have liked us to follow," Yet, 42 years after Tusk and this song was made, they deserve praise that Tusk, this song receives!! Millions have heard Tusk, maybe not as many heard "That's All for Everyone." In general, the beauty of a great album, of a great CD are the sublime songs in the album that don't go Top 40 in Billboard and aren't well known. "That's All for Everyone" is such a beautiful "gold nugget" in this double album. We all can relate to wanting to succeed but then coming up short. I can relate to Lindsey B singing about giving up. Yet, he didn't. No, he's not in the band now, but think of all the Fleetwood Mac albums, concerts done after Tusk. After this song, "That's All for Everyone" Lindsey's remarks come from https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6769970/fleetwood-mac-tusk-lindsey-buckingham-interview-alternate-song-premiere