Starshine
Ooh, you used to be silver
Love light lovers stare
Well, you used to make me shiver
He said
"Well, this is the price
That we would finally pay"
I said, "I don't believe you
I need you, I need you to stay"
She said
"We've been together for so long"
And I said, ooh, I said
"Playin' with fire was..."

Ooh, you used to be silver
Love light lovers stare
Well, you used to make me shiver
Oh, this is the price that we finally pay
I said, "No, I don't believe you
I need you, I need you to stay"
She said
"We've been together for so long"
Well, I said
"Playing with fire was...
Playing with fire was..."

Starshine
Ooh, you used to be silver
Love light lovers stare
Well, you used to make me shiver
He said, "Baby, this is the price that we finally pay"
And I said, "I don't believe you
I need you, I need you to stay"
And she said
"But we've been together for so long"
And I said
And I said
"Playing with fire was wrong"
"Playing with fire was...
Playing with fire was..."
Starshine
Oh, you used to be silver
Run, run, run away on down
You make me shiver
Run away, run away
Why don't you run away, baby
I told you what to do with your life
But you could not save me
Well, I told you what to do with your life
But you could not save me
Starshine

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

Of course, I think she's talking about Lindsey, but there IS a basis for this assumption! I think when she says "Starshine...you used to be silver" she is talking about how she used to almost worship Lindsey- like in Long Distance Winner, when she compares him to a brightly burning "blue-white fire." She has said in interviews that when they were Buckingham Nicks, she would do all the "grunt work" to get money while he stayed at home and perfected their music - and she said the reason she did that was because she thought he was such a musical genius that he shouldn't have to deal with distractions like getting a job at the local Bob's Big Boy. She really thought the world of him... and apparently he was good at more than music, 'cause he "used to make [her] shiver"!

And then, they hit the big time with FM, and it ended. So, when "he says, 'this is the price that we finally pay,'" I believe what he is referring to is the price of fame. She argues with him, she says that you don't have to give up love to get success or vice versa. She wants him to stay, they've been together for years....it can't be ending! (OK, I realize this is not exactly how it really went down because we all know who left whom, but this is the sentiment in the song, anyway. Perhaps she's referring to her own conflicting feelings about leaving?) Anyway, in the end, playing with that fascinating blue-white fire was "wrong"....she got burned.

 

RUISRYAN speculates:

I tend to think this song has something to do with the affair Stevie and Mick had. "He said... she said... I said" I think that accurately forms the triangle between Stevie, Mick, and Sara (Mick's ex-wife). Also, she says "Well you used to be silver" which I think refers to the fact that she and Mick were not willing to break Fleetwood Mac up so that they could be together. Also, in the part where she says "you used to make me shiver" refers to the part of their affair, in which Mick describes as "Had all the secret naughtiness that we wanted" (however I do not think this is word for word how he said it, but you get the point.)

24 Karat Gold | SN Albums