Street Angel
 

Written by S. Nicks

I've been walking under rainbows too long to tell You keep walking down mean streets My street angel I try to bring you in out of the cold But street angels live on the street And they always will Street angels aren't like anyone you know They do what they want and they go where they go They may tell you that You hold the world in your hands But they always give it back (They always give it back) No amount of crying changes your mind No amount of praying brings you inside I know that you love me and that you always will You just stand outside and call to me My sweet street angel A Charles Dickens character With your top hat and your scarf When you pull me through the rainbow I thought you'd stop But you didn't...you turned around You went back to the children and your music And the people that you love I can't help but wonder if Every once in a while you remember the girl When you were a homeless angel, that drove you wild Strange and elusive No amount of crying changes your mind No amount of praying brings you inside I know that you love me and that you always will You just stand outside and call to me My sweet street angel So I ended it all for the both of us I fell down the stairs, a broken rag doll But you never knew, you just thought I went away With nothing more to hope for But you don't hear voices anymore No, my sweet street angel

 


WEBMISTRESS speculates:

This song has Lindsey's name written all over it. They called each other "angel" many times (see Ooh My Love, Goodbye Angel). Stevie starts the song commenting on how her lifestyle has been full of "rainbows" but Lindsey's seems to be full of struggles, full of "mean streets." She tries to help him with those struggles and "bring him in out of the cold" but he seems to revel in them, to not want to give them up (see Twisted). He's "not like anyone" else (a sentiment echoed in Thrown Down). The lines that refer to holding the "world in your hands" seem very reminiscent of Go Your Own Way's "I'd give you my world" - maybe this is a response to that. He may tell her he'd give her the world, but then he takes it back (here, she says "give it back", which is confusing, but I think she means "take it back.") She can't change him, can't convince him to join her in her world (by prioritizing her above his music, perhaps?), so he just "call[s] to her" from outside of it.

She describes herself as a "Charles Dickens character with your top hat and your scarf", which is dead on for Stevie's outfit for pretty much the entire late seventies! (Why does she use "You" all of the sudden? Who knows.) She addresses the priority problem when she says that instead of staying with her, he "went back to the music" and the adoration of the fans. Still, she misses him... does he ever think about her?

Finally, Stevie speaks about why she left Lindsey, and she does so with more clarity in this song than in any other, I believe. She says she "ended it all for the both of us", because the battle between her and his music was tearing them both apart. But, she didn't want to have to do it - it was hard on her also, which may explain why her songs always mourn the breakup even though she initiated it (i.e. Silver Springs). She says that Lindsey never realized that - he could never figure out "why everything turned around." She finally answers that question - she did it to preserve his sanity, and probably hers as well. Apparently it worked - he doesn't "hear voices anymore." A very revealing song.

 

Street Angel | SN Albums