“I Feel Sorry For The Girl” Stevie Nicks’ Interesting Go-To Pre-Show Song

Stevie Nicks’ go-to pre-show song she listens to before she takes the stage has two characters: one she pities and one with whom she’s resonated for decades. Interestingly, these characters are a woman and a man, respectively, but that didn’t stop Nicks from relating to the latter character.

Since cutting her teeth in southern California in the early 1970s as one-half of the folk-rock duo Buckingham Nicks, the future Fleetwood Mac frontwoman knew she was different from the portrayals of women common at that time.

Nicks’ pre-show music reminds her of that fact.

Stevie Nicks’ Interesting Go-To Pre-Show Song Choice

In a 2011 interview with The Guardian, Stevie Nicks revealed that she always tries to listen to Joni Mitchell’s 1972 track “Blonde in the Bleachers” before she takes the stage. The song, which Mitchell included in her album For the Roses, describes a woman who pines over an unavailable rockstar.

She tapes her regrets to the microphone stand, Mitchell sings. She says, ‘You can’t hold the hand of a rock ‘n’ roll man very long or count on your plans with a rock ‘n’ roll man very long. Compete with the fans for your rock ‘n’ roll man for very long, the girls and the bands and the rock ‘n’ roll man.

Within the context of Nicks’ personal and professional relationship with Lindsey Buckingham, one might think Nicks’ affinity to the song was due to her feelings of falling in love with a rock star. But such a correlation would diminish Nicks’ perception of herself on stage as a rock star.

Nicks told The Guardian, “I never saw myself as the girl in the song; I identified with the rock ‘n’ roll star. I was never gonna be the groupie; I was the star.” Nicks said she still listens to the song all those decades later.

The Frontwoman’s Pre-Show Playlist is a Testament To Her Character

Stevie Nicks’ interesting connection to Joni Mitchell’s 1972 track “Blonde in the Bleachers” not only showcases Nicks’ appreciation for the complex emotions and relationships Mitchell sang about. Nicks’ pre-show music is also a testament to her character and her experience in the industry. 

“I felt sorry for the girl in the song and for all the girls who got their hearts broken going out with rock ‘n’ roll stars,” Nicks told The Guardian. “I don’t think much has changed. Guys become famous, go on the road, all the beautiful girls come to their show, and it’s a free for all. My advice to the young women I know is don’t go out with a rockstar. It’s never gonna work.”

“I went out with Lindsey,” she conceded, “but he was a colleague, and he was very in love with me. I was not worried one bit about Lindsey Buckingham straying from me. We came to LA together, hand-in-hand, to conquer the world.” Ironically, another Joni Mitchell track—this one from 1974—would help Stevie Nicks through her darker pre-Fleetwood Mac days when that world domination (and her relationship with Buckingham) seemed less solid.

Photo by Myrna M. Suarez/Getty Images for ABA