Family Man
 

Music: L. Buckingham; Lyrics: L. Buckingham, R. Dashut

Walk down this road When the road gets rough I fall down I get up I am what I am... A family man I am what I am... A family man Mother...father...brother Mother...father...brother Walk down this road In the cool of the night Don't know what's wrong But I do know what's right I am what I am... A family man I am what I am... A family man Mother...father...brother Mother...father...brother I am what I am... A family man I am what I am... A family man Mother...father...brother Mother...father...brother

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

Well, this song could be taken two ways. Taking it literally, he could be talking about his own family. He had a mother, a father, and two brothers and they were very close. (Sadly, only Lindsey and his older brother Jeff are still alive of those five, but he and Jeff both have children, so life - and family - goes on.) In that sense, he is definitely a "family man", and when everything else goes wrong, he knows he can depend on that to be "right", to be there for him when "the road gets rough" and he "falls down."

While this makes the most sense, I've also considered that he means he is a "family man" figuratively, that he consists of many parts including paternal, maternal, and fraternal aspects. In that sense, these different parts may help him deal with the "rough" patches of life and help him "get up." Still, option A seems more likely.

 

DW speculates:

I think this song is simply and sweetly about the comfort he finds in his family - "mother, father, brothers." When things in his own life are difficult to deal with and he's confused or lonely and he doesn't know quite how to fix it just yet, he turns to the people who have always been there for him unconditionally. "I don't know what's wrong, but I do know what's right." Lovers can leave, friends can turn their backs, but family stays forever. Lindsey is very close to his family and it brings him great ease to remind himself, that at heart, he is a "family man" above and beyond anything else he is in life. They are what he values and he is what they value, no matter what.

 

IRIS speculates:

Like in the song This is the Time from out of the cradle, I think Lindsey is not only speaking of the importance of his family, but the dominance of certain desires, ideas, and dreams he has for himself. In the excesses of Fleetwood Mac and the insanity of the relationships and the drugs that have been said to be in the band for so long, he's saying he could never be about any of that. He is first and foremost a "family man", and he will continue to look for the truth in himself and maintain his integrity. That must be tough amidst such a crazy world but that is who he is.

 

Tango in the Night | BN Albums