Desiree
 

Written by R. Vito; Sung by R. Vito and S. Nicks

[Rick in green; Stevie in pink; Together in blue]

Eyes of black and skin so white
She moves so easily into the night
You feel her power, she takes yours away
With your heart and soul you'll give her anything she says
Mother tells son, "Only true love waits"
But they don't hear the warning until it's far too late
And mama said...

"Desiree will break your heart
Her rhythm and blues will tear you all apart, son
Desiree will break your heart
And you can't kick the habit once she makes it start, son
She's the one who'll break your heart
She's gonna...
Break your heart"

Silhouette against a fading sky
Queen of the fools, well, I'm prepared to die
She whispers magic, she smiles a dream
You think it must be love but it ain't what it seems
Miles from nowhere with no place to stay
She'll leave you stranded on the lost highway
And mama said...

"Desiree will break your heart
Her rhythm and blues will tear you all apart, son
Desiree will break your heart
And you can't kick the habit once she gets her start
She's the one who practiced the art
She's gonna...
Break your heart"

The wind cries, a girl's voice sings
You turn to see her, but don't find a thing
Ain't nothing left but your foolish desire
And the cold all around you won't cool the fire
Mother tells son, "For true love you must wait"
But they don't heed the warning until it's far too late
And mama said...

"Desiree will break your heart
Her rhythm and blues will tear you all apart, son
Desiree will break your heart
But you can't kick the habit once she makes it start
She's the one who practiced the art
She's gonna break your heart"

Desiree will break your heart
Her rhythm and blues will tear you all apart, son
Desiree will break your heart
And you can't kick the habit once she gets her start, son
Desiree will break your heart...
You've got to take it like a man, son
Desiree will break your heart...

 

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

Rick Vito was a member of the FM incarnation post-Lindsey, and Stevie was nice enough to pitch in on this number. Who knows, maybe Rick even used Stevie's image for a little inspiration when he wrote this song about a mysterious, mystical singing heartbreaker.

 

RICK VITO states:

This song started out with a different set of lyrics which I changed after joining Fleetwood Mac in 1987. After observing my delightful bandmate Stevie for a while I decided that she would be a perfect lead character for this song. Of course I couldn't sing "Stevie Nicks will break your heart," so the song title and character became "Desiree". She never broke my heart though, as she did the poor guy in the song, and we're still good friends.

 

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