Takes a Long Time

Written by S. Nicks

Lie down and you fall face-down
And you wonder why you must go on
Like the sound of your voices
Well, if I had not heard your music in my life
Well...

It takes a long time
To forget things
Oh, yeah
Takes a long time
It only takes a moment
To remember
The song, it takes hold
Of your heart
And then part of your soul
Oh, they part, but the song remains
But the singer walks out

You could have said
"Well, I can't change your world
But, oh, I can't change your world"
And your heart cries out
Like the sound of your voice
Well, if I hadn't gone on...
"But it was my last chance" she said
"Have you been experienced?
And if so, well.." she said,
"Experience it again"

---

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

This song is full of regret...Stevie seems to be really missing a man - and I think Lindsey - here. She doesn't feel like going on, and all she can think about is the "sound" of the voice she loves, and the music they made together. This line is especially tragic when contrasted with the Buckingham Nicks demo Without You. In that song of true love, Stevie and Lindsey sing together "If I'd not sung your music, [....] where would I be without you?" In that song, they tell each other that they are each other's "music, ingrained in [the] soul." Now that Stevie is indeed without Lindsey, she misses that connection - his music is still in her life, but he isn't - "they part, but the song remains - the singer walks out."

As for the chorus, it's "easy to remember" when they were so in love, but "it takes a long time" to put that love aside, give it up, and move on. The last verse Stevie seems to be going back and forth on whether leaving Lindsey was the right decision - maybe they could have said something differently? Maybe if she hadn't been so quick to "go on"? But she tells herself she had to, it was her "last chance." She just wishes now that she could go back and "experience it again."