To be the last to leave
The last to be gone
Stolen from the ones
Who held onto it

To be the last in line
Oh, the ones that live on
Silhouette of a dream
Treasured by the ones
Who hung onto it

Almost a breakdown
Of our love affair
The stilleto cuts quick
Like a whip through the air

Long distance winners
Will we survive the fight?
Not one of us runs
From the firelight

I would love to believe
I believe what you say
In the drama of the moment
Well, there is no easy way
No one ever leaves
Everyone stays close 'til the fire fades

I would love to believe
Ooh, I believe what you say
In the drama of the moment
For us there is no easy way
No one ever leaves
Everyone stays close 'til the fire fades

To be the last to leave
What caused the fearsome
Divorce in the night
When there was no competition

Well, to survive, do it right
Oh, you believe in the five
To survive the distance
Everyone fights
Everyone fights
And the fireflies

Oooh, what happened to my feelings?
We are dreamers in the night
Some call it my nightmare
My five fireflies
Well, like a sinking ship but not one of us runs

Of our love affair
Oh, like a whip through the air
 
I would love to believe
I believe what you say

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

I believe this song is about Stevie and Lindsey trying to work together in Fleetwood Mac after their relationship ended. Stevie has said that the reason neither one of them left the group is because they weren't about to make the other person force them out of such a successful group. They kept hoping the OTHER one would leave! So each one was determined to the "the last to leave."

It might have ALMOST led to a breakdown of their "love affair" with Fleetwood Mac when their own affair ended, but each was too stubborn to leave, so instead they hurt each other. They're both fiercely competitive - ironically, she uses the term Long Distance Winner, the title of a song from the Buckingham Nicks era that she wrote about Lindsey when they were together, to describe their attitude now. They each want to be the winner so they each fight to survive this trauma and stay in FM.

This part about "I would love to believe, believe what you say" I find interesting because I think Stevie is being a little snarky here. As we know from Tusk, Lindsey was dissatisfied with FM and already making noises about leaving, but this is Stevie saying she doesn't think he's actually going to do it. He may get angry and in the "drama of the moment" threaten to leave... but it's not going to happen. He's too competitive. No one's going to leave until the "fire dies".

I think the "fire" refers to the addictive emotional "drama" that occurs when they work together. They thrive on it even as they hate it, drawn to the fire like fireflies. Even when it gets destructive, even when it seems more like a "nightmare" than a dream, even when it's a "sinking ship" taking them both down, they are both too stubborn, too competitive, and too addicted to the storm (as in Twisted years later) to leave. So they fight to survive all the emotional anguish and stick to it - no matter how bad it gets,"not one of us runs", "no one ever leaves." They'll stay in the fire until it consumes them if they have to.

 

RUISRYAN speculates:

I think that this song also has alot to do with the Mac, personified in the "five fireflies". I tend to think that it has something to do with the awkwardness of the Stevie and Mick affair, and Lindsey's response to it. I think Stevie does a lot of mixing the two relationships in this song, similar to the way she mixed the relationships with Don and Mick in 'Sara'.

I think the 'fire' in this song has a double meaning: the flame of the success of the band, as well as the flames of her 'love affairs'.

 

NIKAYLA speculates:

Fireflies seems to be about the five members of the mac (my five fireflies) staying together even when times were hard (no one runs from the firelight)....this is a fabulous song...it's sad that it wasn't released on a real album..but at least it's out there...