Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac Lyrics Meaning – Unveiling the Enigma Behind the Song
Lyrics
And wouldn’t you love to love her?
Takes to the sky like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover?
All your life you’ve never seen
A woman taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
Will you ever win?
She is like a cat in the dark
And then she is the darkness
She rules her life like a fine skylark
And when the sky is starless
All your life you’ve never seen
A woman taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
Will you ever win?
Will you ever win?
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
She rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn’t you love to love her?
She rules her life like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover?
All your life you’ve never seen
A woman taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
Will you ever win?
Will you ever win?
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Taken by
Taken by the sky
Taken by
Taken by the sky
Taken by
Taken by the sky
Dreams unwind
Love’s a state of mind
Dreams unwind
Love’s a state of mind
Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rhiannon’ has long been an enchanting enigma in the world of rock folklore. From Stevie Nicks’ captivating vocals to the atmospheric instrumentation, the song is a tapestry of mystique and romance.
As we dissect the layers of this classic, we might uncover the mystical inspirations and the profound messages intertwined within its verses. ‘Rhiannon’ isn’t just a song; it’s a narrative that encircles the listener, leaving them spellbound by its haunting beauty.
A Mystic Myth Transformed into Melody
The figure of Rhiannon stems from Welsh mythology. A goddess, a queen, an otherworldly entity — she is a symbol of strength, beauty, and magic. In Fleetwood Mac’s rendition, Rhiannon takes flight, characterized as this ethereal woman, untameable and free.
By channeling the essence of this Celtic myth into their music, Fleetwood Mac bridges ancient tales with contemporary sounds, resurrecting Rhiannon in a form that is both evocative and recognizably human, casting her as the protagonist of their sonic storybook.
Love’s Illusive Chase: The Song’s Hidden Meaning
On the surface, ‘Rhiannon’ could be perceived as a love song, the yearning for an elusive woman. But delve deeper, and it seems to explore the concept of unattainable desire itself. It serves as a metaphor for the human pursuit of idealized love and perfection, which, like the wind, can never be truly captured or contained.
The idea that we are all, in some way, taken by the wind, chasing dreams and dodging the reality of what we can possess, presents a hidden layer of existential pursuit, cloaked within the guise of a love ballad. Fleetwood Mac invites the listener to reflect on the futility of this quest — and the beauty inherent within it.
The Paradox of Rhiannon: Feline Mystery in the Night
Nicks’ lyrics paint Rhiannon as both visible and invisible, tangible and intangible. ‘She is like a cat in the dark, and then she is the darkness,’ one of the song’s most evocative lines, whispers of a woman who is omnipresent, yet elusive — a paradox wrapped in a melody.
This duality manifests throughout the song, suggesting that Rhiannon is not just a being to be understood, but a force to be felt. The ‘darkness’ eludes to deeper meanings of the unknown, the subconscious, and the parts of our desires that lurk out of the light of understanding.
The Iconic Chorus: An Enduring Cry for Connection
The simple repetition of her name ‘Rhiannon’ in the chorus serves as a call into the void, reaching for a connection to the divine feminine. Each utterance is an invocation, a plea to experience the celestial love that Rhiannon symbolizes.
Here, the band taps into a universal human experience — the desire for a love that transcends the ordinary, a love that can survive the strains of the mortal plane. The chorus remains one of the most memorable segments of the song, displaying how a musical motif can resonate on a primal level with listeners.
Unraveling Eternal Threads: Love as a State of Mind
‘Dreams unwind, love’s a state of mind,’ the closing refrains of ‘Rhiannon’ link us back to the ethereal themes of the song. Fleetwood Mac concludes that love’s reality is subjective, varying from dream to dream, person to person, feeling to feeling.
As the music fades, these words leave the audience questioning the nature of love, dreams, and the intertwining of both. The song suggests that perhaps true love is not in the catching, but in the experience of the chase — a perpetual state of wonder and desire.
