This, That, and the Other

My theme for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge is classic rock songs. Each day during the month (except for the first four Sundays, I will post a classic rock song: a video from YouTube, along with a brief bit of background about the song and the recording artist(s).

This is much more difficult than I thought it would be. For every letter of the alphabet there are dozens of fantastic classic rock songs to choose from and picking just one song for each letter is maddening. But this is what I signed up for.

My O song is “Over My Head” from Fleetwood Mac.

“Over My Head” was performed by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. The song was written by group keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie, who passed away at the end of November. In the U.S., the band’s label selected “Over My Head” as the lead single from the 1975 album, Fleetwood Mac, a decision that surprised the band, which believed that the song was the “least likely track on Fleetwood Mac to be released as a single.” Despite that, the song reached number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1976, and its success helped the Fleetwood Mac album sell 8 million copies.

This was the first Fleetwood Mac song to crack the Top 40 in the U.S. The band had been around since 1967 and had released 10 albums, but much of their output was rooted in blues without much pop appeal. That changed when Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined in 1975 for their self-titled album, released that July.

Although she was married to her bandmade John McVie at the time, Christine never gave any indication that this song was about him. The lyrics, according to Christine, were actually inspired by her relationship with new band member Lindsey Buckingham. “I think that was based on a sort of fantasy about Lindsey, really. I think that was a sort of an ode to the gorgeous Lindsey at the time.”

The single version was reworked to tighten it up and give it more pop appeal. On the album, the song runs 3:38 with an intro that slowly builds from silence; the single is cut to 3:10 with punchy percussion right off the top.

Here are the lyrics to “Over My Head.”

You can take me to paradise
And then again you can be as cold ice
I'm over my head (over my head)
Oh, but it sure feels nice

You can take me anytime you like
I'll be around if you think you might love me, baby (over my head)
And hold me tight

Your mood is like a circus wheel
You're changing all the time
Sometimes I can't help but feel
That I'm wasting all of my time

(Over my head)

Your mood is like a circus wheel
You're changing all the time
Sometimes I can't help but feel
That I'm wasting all of my time

I think I'm looking on the dark side
But everyday you hurt my pride
I'm over my head (over my head)
Oh, but it sure feels nice
I'm over my head (over my head) 
But it sure feels nice
I'm over my head (over my head)
But it sure feels nice

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