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Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night And wouldn't you love to love her She rules her life like a bird in flight And who will be her lover? All your life you've never seen Woman taken by the wind Would you stay if she promised to you Heaven? Will you ever win? She is like a cat in the dark And then she is the darkness She rules her life like a fine skylark And when the sky is starless Once in a million years a lady like her rises "Rhiannon" you cry, but she's gone And your life knows no answer Baby, your life knows no answer Rhiannon Rhiannon Rhiannon Rhiannon... She rings like a bell through the night And wouldn't you love to love her She rules her life like a bird in flight And who will be her lover? All your life you've never seen Woman taken by the sky Would you stay if she promised to you Heaven? Would you even try? Would you even try? Rhiannon Rhiannon Rhiannon Taken by, taken by the sky Taken by, taken by the sky Taken by, taken by the sky No... Dreams unwind Love's a state of mind You know that your dreams unwind And your love's a state of mind I know you know that your dreams unwind And love is hard to find, I know Dreams unwind And love is hard to find, I know Dreams unwind And love is hard to find Dreams unwind It's still a state of mind Take me like the wind Take me with the sky Take me like the wind, child Take me with the sky All the same, all the same All the same, Rhiannon All the same, all the same All the same, Rhiannon All the same, all the same All the same, Rhiannon All the same, all the same All the same - oh, take me with you to the sky Dream on Try to, try to leave her Dream on, silly dreamer Try to...oh, take me to the sky Dream on Ah.......silly dreamer
Originally Released on "Fleetwood Mac" (1975); Alternate Live Version on "The Dance" (1997)
Alternate Stevie Nicks Solo Versions on "Enchanted" (1998) and Live on "Crystal Visions" (2007)
WEBMISTRESS speculates:
See the original Rhiannon for most of my views on this song. The major difference between the live version and the original is the verse, "Once in a million years a lady like her rises." This is not in the original, but I love this line and I love this version of Rhiannon. It's got all the melodic quality of the original plus the added passion of a live performace - the way she sings the above line makes you really feel it! And the improvisation at the end rocks. This is by far my favorite version of Rhiannon, and there are many - Stevie seems to change the words every time she performs it. Keeps us fans on our toes! I just wish she still did it like this live - the mellow ones just don't get your blood pumping. And Lindsey doesn't get to do that ferocious guitar part while Stevie goes nuts! Such a pity!
ANNA speculates:
I always wondered what Stevie got so upset about in the last part of the live Rhiannon. Why she screamed and carried on, what was "all the same"? But I think you've helped me understand that she was lamenting the loss of her lover, Lindsey, and the fact that without her, he would not rise to stardom, or "win". She knew she would rise to stardom. But she knew he wouldn't without her--if they weren't a team, it wouldn't work for him. They had to be a team. And they just couldn't work out their differences. Their partnership was meant to be, and all these years later, with Say You Will now, their fate will still not be denied.