“Edge Of Seventeen” Lyrics & Meaning (Stevie Nicks)

Stevie Nicks was a big reason for Fleetwood Mac’s success.

And she has had a hugely successful solo career, too.

Edge of Seventeen was released on her first solo album Bella Donna.

It did well back then, but never broke into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

However, it has found huge success since then.

It is now one of Stevie Nicks’ most famous songs and it has been covered by numerous artists.

But what was Stevie singing about, with the white-winged dove and the edge of seventeen?

Keep reading to learn the real meaning behind the lyrics to one of Stevie’s biggest hits.

 

Edge Of Seventeen Lyrics And Meaning

The reasons Stevie Nicks’ fans idolize her are obvious: she has a very personal voice capable of imprinting great strength on her performances, and at the same time, filling the lyrics with a deep sensuality.

She is also one of the most beautiful women who have ever taken the stage and she has made many listeners her fall in love. Her mesmerizing live performances are legendary.

Stevie Nicks was born in Phoenix in 1948. During her childhood, she learned to play the piano and sing with her maternal grandfather. She immersed herself in fantasy and legends, hand in hand with her mother.

In high school, she met Lindsey Buckingham and they immediately connect, both because of their way of understanding music and on a sentimental level.

In 1968 they began their musical career first in the Fritz group, and later on their own as Buckingham Nicks. But their lack of success meant that she ended up having to work a variety of different jobs to make ends meet. She also considered going back to school.

But in 1975 Mick Fleetwood needed a guitarist for Fleetwood Mac and he Buckingham got Nicks in the band too. She would become one of the people directly responsible for the group’s definitive leap to fame with her performances and compositions of some of their most recognized songs such as Rhiannon or Seven Wonders.

In 1981 she decided to release her first solo album, Bella Donna. She called on her friend Tom Petty to produce it. It featured Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, which hit top 3 on the American charts. It also included Edge Of Seventeen.

 

Edge Of Seventeen Lyrics

Chorus

Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Whoo-whoo-whoo
Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Whoo, baby, whoo
Said, whoo

Verse 1

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 (Everything stops)
Nothin’ else mattered
He was no more
(He was no more)
Than a baby then
Well, he seemed broken hearted
Somethin’ within him
But the moment
That I first laid
Eyes on him
All alone on the edge of seventeen

Chorus

Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Whoo, baby, whoo, whoo
Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Said, whoo, baby, whoo
Said, whoo

Verse 2

Well, I went today
Maybe I will go again
Tomorrow, yeah, yeah
Well, the music there
Well it was hauntingly familiar
When I see you doin’
What I try to do for me
With their words of a poet
And a voice from a choir
And a melody
Nothin’ else mattered

Chorus

Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Whoo, baby, whoo, whoo
Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Said, whoo, baby, whoo
Said, whoo

Verse 3

The clouds never expect it
When it rains
But the sea changes color
But the sea
Does not change
So with the slow graceful flow
Of age
I went forth with an age old
Desire to please
On the edge of seventeen

Chorus

Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Whoo, baby, whoo, whoo
Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Said, whoo, baby, whoo
Said, whoo

Verse 4

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
When 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 singin’, come away
(Come away)
(Come away)

Chorus

Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Whoo, baby, whoo, whoo
Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Said, whoo, baby, whoo
Said, whoo

Bridge

Well, I hear you (Well, I hear you)
In the morning (In the morning)
And I hear you (And I hear you)
At nightfall (At nightfall)
Sometimes to be near you
Is to be unable to hear you
My love
I’m a few years older than you, my love
(I’m a few years older than you)

Chorus

Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
(Just like the white winged dove)
Sounds like she’s singin’
Whoo, baby, whoo
Said, whoo
Just like the white winged dove
Sings a song
Sounds like she’s singin’
Whoo, baby, whoo
Said, whoo

 

Edge Of Seventeen Meaning

In 1981, Stevie Nicks released her first solo work Bella Donna, while still a member of Fleetwood Mac. The album was recorded during the year 1980, during which time Nicks was involved with producer Jimmy Iovine, who worked with her on Bella Donna.

While filming, Stevie met Tom Petty (with whom she later recorded Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around). Talking to Tom Petty’s first wife, Jane, Stevie asked how and when they met.

“At the age of seventeen,” replied Jane, but because of her heavy southern accent, Stevie heard “edge” – on the threshold – of 17. She liked the way that sounded and wrote it down for use in a future song.

The original idea was that it would be a love song about Tom Petty and his wife’s meeting. But in December 1980, two deaths in the same week jolted the singer’s life – her uncle Jonathan and John Lennon, one of Jimmy Iovine’s great friends.

Jimmy was devastated by the murder. He and John Lennon were very good friends and after the murder happened, there was nothing Stevie could do to help him with his sadness. Nothing she could say could comfort him.

She left him in Los Angeles and went to Phoenix to be with her uncle who was suffering from cancer. Her uncle passed away while she was sitting on the bed next to him and holding his hand. The lyrics to this song describe that moment.

“The phrase ‘And the days go by like a strand in the wind’ was how time passed so quickly in those days during my uncle’s illness and how frustrating it was for me,” Stevie told Rolling Stone.

“When I sing ‘Well, I went today, maybe I will go again tomorrow,’ it is about seeing him on the eve of his death. He came home with my aunt. She put on some soft music and it was the most perfect way to let the spirit go.”

She explained that the white-winged dove represents that moment – “I felt a great loss for the two Johns who left us, so ‘Just to hear the call of a nightbird singing come away’ was about that moment” said Stevie.

“My cousin John Nicks and I were in the room when he died. It was just John and me there. That was part of the song when I ran through the halls looking for someone. I thought, where is my mom? Where are his wife and the rest of the family? At which point I went back to the piano and finished the song.”

Thus, at the same time, it tells us about the insecurities of love that come very soon after and the pain caused by the departure of a soul like a dove with white wings. The death of her uncle really affected Stevie, which was explained in the third verse:

The clouds never expect it
When it rains
But the sea changes color
But the sea
Does not change
So with the slow graceful flow
Of age
I went forth with an age-old
Desire to please
On the edge of seventeen

The music starts with a distinctive guitar riff, accompanied by percussion that gives way to the powerful voice of the singer accompanied by the female choirs.

The voices with the piano and the bass immerse us in a fast-paced melody full of strength and feeling. The powerful opening riff of the song, alongside Stevie’s husky voice, is remarkable. This is a song that deserves all of the accolades it has received.

 

Edge Of Seventeen Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

Edge Of Seventeen was one of Bella Donna’s highlights and is one of Stevie’s most covered songs. It turned 42 in 2022 and remains as current and impactful as it was at the time of its release.

At her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, it was Harry Styles who introduced Stevie Nicks. The former One Direction member has expressed on countless occasions that he is a big fan of hers and that his music has been inspired by Stevie. They even sang together on a couple of occasions.

Another current pop figure who has paid tribute to her is Miley Cyrus. As part of the promotion of her latest album Midnight Sky, she performed a mashup of the song that gives the album its name together with Edge of Seventeen, called Edge of Midnight.

Fleetwood Mac is one of the best-selling artists ever, with their album Rumours being one of the top-selling albums of all time. Number one on that list? Thriller by Michael Jackson. We have a similar article analyzing the lyrics and meaning of Billie Jean, the biggest hit from the biggest album.

Another great song dealing with death comes from the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. Read our breakdown of the lyrics and meaning of Little Talks for more.

For another great Stevie Nicks hit, check out our article analyzing the Landslide lyrics meaning. While Nicks wrote the song, she performed it as part of Fleetwood Mac.