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WEBMISTRESS speculates:
On her official website the The Nicks Fix, Stevie writes, "On the fourth day of compassion I was impressed to write a poem about AIDS and about the angel that I do believe in my heart is there for us! I call her the 'passageway angel.'" I assume she means the passageway to Heaven. So, I guess we don't have to do much speculating here! I must say, though, that I love the line "The floor was wet and slippery with the tracks of their tears." Very poetic, effective and vivid imagery.
JESSICA speculates:
This song may be written partially about The Dance tour/reunion. Everyone is happy for the first time in years and they're all ready to do it. I think "he looked up and saw her" is a reference to "Angel" ("I still look up...'). It's like he ignored her during Tango, and then he left, but now he sees her for what she is. Everything is the same because they're used to touring together, but everything is different because they're now friends. As for the angel, this is just a guess, but maybe it's Robin, Stevie's friend who passed away? It makes sense because the angel is standing by the stage, and Robin would tour with Stevie as her voice coach. Maybe Stevie thinks that she will meet Robin in heaven.
DORO speculates:
As usual : I have no idea what Stevie really meant when she wrote this (or any other) song . We can only guess , and that's what I'm doing right now ! :
I think there are two ways to interpret this song . As Stevie said , she wrote the song about the loss of people , here she certainly might think of Robin . But the song sounds also very much FM-Dance-related ... so she might have thought of these two experiences/feelings .
And when she walked in the room
After so many years
He looked up
And saw herThe SHE could be Robin . It could be possible that Stevie thinks about what would happen if Robin was just there again and if everything would have turned out differently . But who is the HE ? It could be Robin's husband . But it could as well be just anybody --> the whole world . Everybody would just see her . Anyway , I think that this is a part Stevie wrote later than the original poem , and so it does have something to do with Fleetwood Mac .
The SHE could also be Stevie at the FM reunion . And so the HE will probably be Lindsey . Both have not seen each other for a long time . And when she finally walks in to do the reunion he is forced to deal with her again . He cannot look away anymore . She is there .
He was standing at the crossroads
She was moving in slow motion
Everything was the same except that
Everything was differentThe Robin interpretation : The HE (whoever it is) has no idea what will come next , but then the angel comes along and helps him to decide . Maybe the person doesn't even really know what has happened . He just makes a decision and doesn't know that he had help .
The FM interpretation : Lindsey was maybe at a time when he didn't know how his life would go on . Maybe he had just gotten together with his new girlfriend and was maybe thinking about having a family , marrying - or rather not . And then Stevie comes , she just seems as if she knows everything . She is slow , relaxed --> she doesn't have to hurry , she knows how he will decide . Everything is the same = they're back with Fleetwood Mac . Everything is different = they know they will not fight and make this new start just sweet . By the way , I LOVE those last two lines !
In that very moment
Everyone was silent
Everyone was friendly
For the first time in yearsThe Robin interpretation : Robin is presented as an angel who can mend broken hearts . When she is there , people act differently towards each other though they might not even know why .
The FM interpretation : When Stevie walks in (and she was the last one asked to rejoin) everybody knows that it will be better this time . They have fought very much in the past , but now for the first time they are just lovely towards each other .
Everyone was smiling
Though their pain was apparent
And the floor was wet and slippery
With the tracks of their tearsThe Robin interpretation : People have cried very much , but maybe they needed an angel to help them and wipe away the world's tears .
The FM interpretation : The whole band has made some bad experiences and fought wild battles . But this time they are going to give it a try . They want to be nice to each other . Everybody knows that they have hurt each other and their way/floor is full of angry words and tears , but they want to make it better .
And then I see someone standing at the side of the stage
Not standing in the shadows
I see her face
Glowing in the darkness
In her own angel way
I have come to make you better
I have come to take you awayThe Robin interpretation : Maybe when Stevie sings on the stage she remembers how Robin used to be with her on the road . She can see Robin and knows she is an angel . And the angel wants to make her better . Maybe she wants to make her a better person , help other people to get over their pain . And the angel wants to take her away when she dies .
The FM interpretation : Maybe here she is referring to Lindsey's solo songs at the dance concerts . She had to be next to the stage when she had to sing Landslide after his solo work, so maybe she stood there and he looked at her . She is not standing "in the shadows" - that could mean that he doesn't see her as a threatening person nowadays but as really beautiful and lovely . She is "glowing in the darkness" - she is something special , different from all the people around him . She is his angel . And she wants to make him better . Maybe as a person (she wants to give him light and enrichment) and maybe also musically (they work good together , both said that & we hear it) . And she wants to take him away - maybe into a dream with her .
No one slipped and fell this time
Everyone was steady
Someone held my arm
So that I would not fall
For the first time in a long time
Everyone was ready
No one said a word
And that simply said it allThe Robin interpretation : Robin really makes the people better . She is that someone that holds Stevie's arm and helps her to get along .
The FM interpretation : Everybody knows that this time they really have to be friendly or they will break up the whole reunion . And everybody does their job good . They help each other . Here it could also be Robin who holds Stevie's arm to calm her and make her feel alright . But it could also be another FM member . It must not necessarily be Lindsey , it could also be Christine , Mick or John . They are all ready to deal with each other again . They don't have to talk , they understand each other without words - like they used to .
Walking through the room together
In suspended animation
No one saw us go
No one said goodbyeThe Robin interpretation : Here Stevie talks about what happens when the angel takes her away --> when she has to die . They are walking together --> Stevie agrees to come with Robin . She is not afraid of dying , she knows as long as she is with Robin it will not be scary . No one might really notice when they are going because death has its own plans for people . But Stevie is ready to go with Robin .
The FM interpretation : First Stevie walked into the room , now they are walking together . Maybe just Stevie and Lindsey , maybe the whole band . No one sees them go and no one says goodbye to them --> everybody knows that they will come back . And they don't need to talk , they just understand each other .
But in my heart I leave
Great expectations
That you will find the answers
To your questionsThe Robin interpretation : Stevie is leaving with Robin , but she is sure that everybody around her , everybody that has to watch her go , will one day find out what happens after death .
The FM interpretation : Stevie said that Lindsey was standing at the crossroads . Now , after they are all good friends again , she hopes that Lindsey will make the right decision .
And that live will once more be a celebration
And that you will be touched by an angel
Celebration ... somedayThe Robin interpretation : Maybe Stevie thinks of heaven . When everybody is together again and everybody knows everything , they all can be happy again . And that's all because the angel (Robin) helped them . So they can finally be happy again . Someday . (By the way : I love the way she repeats And you will be touched by an angel three times)
The FM interpretation : Stevie might think of a new happy life with Fleetwood Mac , without fights and angry words as there had been in the past . And that's all because the angel (Stevie) walked in and agreed to make it as well as the others . So they can finally be happy again . Someday . It's a long way , but they know they can make it .
Additional remarks (I know no one is interested in them) : THIS IS MY FAVORITE STEVIE SONG !!
TERESA speculates:
I listened to this song several times... confused at first by it's meaning. At first I thought her song symbolized a congregation of people at church, each individual moving towards the pulpit to find salvation. That maybe the one girl singled out, seeing the angel, was being cured of an illness. And the foreshadowing of the verse where everyone was smiling for the first time in years ...I felt was due to the fact they felt God's presense now and had reason to believe that she would be healed. But as I listened to Stevie's song a few more times , I believed my interpretation was incorrect. I began to feel, the setting of the song was at a funeral. In the beginning the girl walks in to see "him" standing at the crossroads. Just like in death ...I felt it was the crossroads of this woman's and man's life. I felt the girl was a ghost, there at her own funeral. That this man had passed on before her and he was waiting for her. Especially the part of the song where Stevie says they cross the floor in suspended animation, I felt their souls were floating above everyone there. That would explain why the girl (or woman) saw the angel clearly, not in the shadows. The angel was there to guide her into heaven. And it became more clear to me...people do try to smile to other loved ones and family,even at funerals. I guess like the song replies even though you feel the pain you smile to hide the sadness. That's obviously why there was a trail of tears across the floor. The family had come together, as all families will during a funeral . No matter what the circumstance had been in the past, even if they had not been talking to one another. Then my final analogy, of feeling that she was at her own funeral ... was close to the last verse. Where she stated that no one saw them leave and no one said goodbye. At that moment I feel as if their souls were lifted to heaven. That's why in the end she is hoping that everyone left there will find all the answers to questions they have about life. It's as if in her mind she was bidding them her farewell, even though they could not hear her or see her. I love this song either way and Stevie Nicks is a "wonderful" entertainer! Thank you for allowing me to express my own opinion about such a beautiful song.
MIKE speculates:
This song was written in Late July 1996, quite some time before THE DANCE Reunion. In private tape conversations, Stevie says she partially wrote this song after being touched by the story of a young man in the final stages of AIDS. This man was a close friend of Lynn Mabry's, and Lynn put Stevie in contact with him. This man was Stevie's special guest at her benefit concert in Columbus, OH in August 1996. Unfortunately, he died a few months later.
All of the lyrics were written in 1996. Maybe those seeking a FM Reunion connection in the lyrics can consider the pseudo-reunion at the May 1996 Kentucky Derby?