I Call You Missing

Written by S. Nicks
 

You used to call her wicked
She used to call you friend
You say her life is wild
Compared to what lifestyle?
Some call it love
Some are above that
She burns a candle for him every night
She says "It's worth it"

And the angel said "You must have had a dream
And you remember it"
And the dream followed through
'Til the end of the dream, 'til the dream came true
When I want something, well, I get it

Who understands? Well, that's not fair
Well, what do you mean that's the way it is?
"Sorry, sorry," he said
No one ever said this would be fair

And life begins again, outlaws are gone
I return to the very same place
It's just the same way that it was

Well, you can't say no in the middle of the night, oh, no
You can't stay home, givin' up the fight
Well, I care about it Saturday night
She calls you missing again and again

She calls you missing, missing, missing
Again and again
She calls you missing, missing, missing
Again and again
She calls you missing, missing, missing
Again and again
She calls you...
No one said that this would be fair

Then there are the frightening, laughing demons
More frightening than the razor's edge
So the angel said "Well, well, you must have had a dream"
Her heart is broken

Who understands?  Well, that's not fair
What do you mean, that's the way it is?
"Sorry, sorry" he said
Well, no one said that it would be fair
Well, no one said that it would be fair

Well, the angel said, "Well, you must have had a dream, baby
You can remember it"
When I want something, I get it
Woah, the end of the dream then the dream came true
When I want something, I get it

Well, no one said that it would be fair
When I want something, I get it
Who understands?  That's not fair
When I want something, I get it

And the angel said, "Well, you must have had a dream
You remember it"
And the dream followed through
At the end of the dream, the dream came true
When I want something, well, I get it

And the angel said, "Well, you must have had a dream"
When I want something, well, I get it

 

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

This song shares so many lyrics with Whole Lotta Trouble that it sounds like a demo of it! I guess when Stevie threw this one into the reject pile she decided to salvage the good lyrics. This song seems to be about missing a man, and that it's not fair that she's lost him, but she has to carry on, despite all the inner "demons" she's dealing with. Shock of shocks, I don't think she's talking about Lindsey here, because she refers to this guy thinking she has a "wild lifestyle," which makes me think that he was out of the limelight himself and had trouble dealing with Stevie's rock'n'roll lifestyle.

 

MIKE speculates:

In May 1994, Stevie did a radio interview and talked about how Joe Walsh was the inspiration for "Love Is Like A River". She even laughed about how Joe told Stevie her life was too crazy for him, and she retorted, "Compared to WHAT lifestyle?!", since Joe had such a notorious reputation for wildness. She
couldn't believe he had the nerve to imply SHE was too crazy for HIM, of all people.

Since "I Call You Missing" & "Love Is Like A River" share so many lyrics, most telling being the "lifestyle" line, both songs must be about Joe Walsh. Also, FYI, as shown on pre-release track lists from Atlantic Records for both ROCK A LITTLE and STREET ANGEL, the title of the song is "I Call You Missing".
That is also the copyrighted title from 1985. [Note: I've changed it accordingly - WM]

 

SN Albums