Music Review: Stevie Nicks "Edge Of Seventeen"
Stevie Nicks
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Edge Of Seventeen
Album: Bella Donna
Year: 1982
Stevie Nicks recalls when she discovered her sexuality in the independent rocker "Edge Of Seventeen."
Stirring guitars open the single, setting a stark tone. In the chorus, she says becoming aware of her body was like an awakening. It made feel alive and in tune with the world.
In the first verse, she says her days are unremarkable and uneventable. Her life is routine and each day mirrors the other. She tells her close friend that she's become apathetic to the world around her.
Further in the verse, she says she saw a troubled young man and it startled her. Something inside her changed. At 16, she suddenly knew the meaning of lust and the wanting.
The chorus is sung again.
In the second verse, she keeps thinking of ways to return to the lounge where she saw him. She hadn't heard the music played in there before. However, she remembered hearing it. She saw him performing a song and she is enraptured. She thinks he is brave for getting out there and singing. His words hold meaning and are imaginative. His vocals are beautiful and heartbreaking. The melody brought tears to her eyes. In the room, she could only concentrate on him.
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she says the clouds are unaware when it will rain. She notes the light on the sea changes it from a midnight blue to a green. However, it does not affect the sea itself. She says she grew up by the private moments she felt. It was gradual. She was ready to experience intimacy and the carnality of her emotions.
Nicks let out a cathartic "oh" over the guitar riff.
The chorus is sung again.
In the third verse, she returns once more and sleeps with him. As she leaves his place, she feels alone. She sobs as people pass by, ignoring her. She wanted to know why the experience was a letdown. But she finds comfort in the nightbird’s song. It tells her to leave him behind.
The chorus is sung again.
In the last verse, she says she still hears him singing. It haunts her. She adds she was older than he was. Yet, he will remain with her. The experience will not be forgotten by her.
The chorus is sung again to close the song.
At 17, Nicks lost her virginity to a 15-year-old who piqued her curiousity. Although he was young, his charisma made him more mature than his actual years. He was a talented singer, interested in the meaning of the words. He had opinions and unlike any boys at her school. She yearned for him like no other. When she did sleep with him, she realized that it was not as romantic as she envisioned. He revealed himself to be immature and detached. It rattled her and she couldn't comprehend the personality change. Years later, the boy would stay in her mind, singing and stinging her heart.
Nicks' gravelly vocals are learned and hardened. She's not the naive 17-year-old she was anymore. However, as an adult, she's looking for the innonence she once had.
The guitar riff is amazing. It stands out. Even in Destiny's Child "Bootylicious," the riff still receives the most attention. It makes the song. It's rugged, reflecting Nicks' current pessimistic view.
"Edge Of Seventeen" makes an indelible impression and never lets go.
Album: Bella Donna
Year: 1982
Stevie Nicks recalls when she discovered her sexuality in the independent rocker "Edge Of Seventeen."
Stirring guitars open the single, setting a stark tone. In the chorus, she says becoming aware of her body was like an awakening. It made feel alive and in tune with the world.
"Just like the white winged dove/Sings a song/Sounds like she's singing./Whoo., whoo, whoo/Just like the white winged dove/Sings a song/Sounds like she's singing/Oh, baby, oh, said, oh."
In the first verse, she says her days are unremarkable and uneventable. Her life is routine and each day mirrors the other. She tells her close friend that she's become apathetic to the world around her.
"And the days go by/Like a strand in the wind/In the web that is my own/I begin again/Said to my friend, baby/Nothin' else mattered."
Further in the verse, she says she saw a troubled young man and it startled her. Something inside her changed. At 16, she suddenly knew the meaning of lust and the wanting.
"He was no more than a baby then/Well he seemed broken hearted/Something within him/But the moment that I first laid/Eyes on.him.all alone/On the edge of seventeen."
The chorus is sung again.
In the second verse, she keeps thinking of ways to return to the lounge where she saw him. She hadn't heard the music played in there before. However, she remembered hearing it. She saw him performing a song and she is enraptured. She thinks he is brave for getting out there and singing. His words hold meaning and are imaginative. His vocals are beautiful and heartbreaking. The melody brought tears to her eyes. In the room, she could only concentrate on him.
"I went today/Maybe I will go again tomorrow/And the music there it was hauntingly familiar/And I see you doing/What I try to do for me/With the words from a poet/And the voice from a choir/And a melody, nothing else mattered."
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she says the clouds are unaware when it will rain. She notes the light on the sea changes it from a midnight blue to a green. However, it does not affect the sea itself. She says she grew up by the private moments she felt. It was gradual. She was ready to experience intimacy and the carnality of her emotions.
"The clouds never expect it/When it rains/But the sea changes colours/But the sea/Does not change/And so with the slow graceful flow of age/I went forth with an age old/Desire to please/On the edge of seventeen."
Nicks let out a cathartic "oh" over the guitar riff.
The chorus is sung again.
In the third verse, she returns once more and sleeps with him. As she leaves his place, she feels alone. She sobs as people pass by, ignoring her. She wanted to know why the experience was a letdown. But she finds comfort in the nightbird’s song. It tells her to leave him behind.
"Well then suddenly/There was no one left standing/In the hall, yeah,yeah/In a flood of tears/That no one really ever heard fall at all/Oh I went searchin' for an answer/Up the stairs and down the hall/Not to find an answer/Just to hear the call/Of a nightbird singing/Come away, come away."
The chorus is sung again.
In the last verse, she says she still hears him singing. It haunts her. She adds she was older than he was. Yet, he will remain with her. The experience will not be forgotten by her.
"Well I hear you in the morning/And I hear you/At nightfall/Sometime to be near you/Is to be unableto hear you my love/I'm a few years older than youare (I'm a few years older than you) my love."
The chorus is sung again to close the song.
At 17, Nicks lost her virginity to a 15-year-old who piqued her curiousity. Although he was young, his charisma made him more mature than his actual years. He was a talented singer, interested in the meaning of the words. He had opinions and unlike any boys at her school. She yearned for him like no other. When she did sleep with him, she realized that it was not as romantic as she envisioned. He revealed himself to be immature and detached. It rattled her and she couldn't comprehend the personality change. Years later, the boy would stay in her mind, singing and stinging her heart.
Nicks' gravelly vocals are learned and hardened. She's not the naive 17-year-old she was anymore. However, as an adult, she's looking for the innonence she once had.
The guitar riff is amazing. It stands out. Even in Destiny's Child "Bootylicious," the riff still receives the most attention. It makes the song. It's rugged, reflecting Nicks' current pessimistic view.
"Edge Of Seventeen" makes an indelible impression and never lets go.