Seven Wonders (Fleetwood Mac)

The music of Fleetwood Mac has always been close to my heart for several reasons. One of them is the uniquely feminine yet feisty perspective pwned by Stevie Nicks (as well as Christine McVie and Sandy Stewart), which makes a refreshing break from stereotypes both in its time and today.

For me, the core of ‘Seven Wonders’ is the simplicity and sincerity of the speaker’s reflection on the person who moved her so. It was just the touch of her beloved’s hand -- “all the way down to [the misheard] Emmaline” -- that filled her heart with such beauty that not even the Seven Wonders of the world could exceed it. I don’t think Sandy Stewart, who wrote most of the lyrics so passionately delivered by Stevie, was conscious of the paradoxical implications of living to see wonders that had, in six out of seven cases, returned to dust long ago.

Or perhaps I am being obtuse, and that was the exact point being made; honestly, I have not researched the rumours (~_^) about this composition conscientiously enough to make a truly informed decision. Suffice it to say, I love the fact that the speaker makes a point about her loved one’s “intensity”, and relishes such a simple pleasure: the touch of that person’s hand. There is not even so much as a kiss involved! It is something more subtle and meaningful, in context.

I also warm to the serenity of “if our paths never cross”. Although she does “hope and pray” that “it might work out someday”, the speaker has already gained so much from the encounter that she is at peace with the idea that she may never “live to match the beauty again”. What a heroic perspective to take, instead of lamenting the possibility that she may never again meet this person who has made such an impression on her!

I have, myself, experienced similar epiphanies based on the most meagre contact with people who have had such electricity that they have changed my very essence. So I suppose it is inevitable that this song carries the signature of a kindred soul -- a signature executed in the most gorgeously fluid musical calligraphy.

Check it out on YouTube