Singer Stevie Nicks releases 'anthem' to Roe v. Wade, abortion rights: 'Most important thing I ever do'
Nicks said she wrote the song shortly after the Dobbs decision
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stevie Nicks’ first single in four years is an "anthem" to abortion rights and the 2022 Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The former Fleetwood Mac singer released the music video for "The Lighthouse" on Thursday, though she explained in a statement that the song was years in the making.
"I wrote this song a few months after Roe v. Wade was overturned," she said. "It seemed like overnight, people were saying, ‘What can we, as a collective force, do about this…’ For me, it was to write a song. It took a while because I was on the road."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The Lighthouse" is Stevie Nicks' first single since 2020. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)
Her statement continued, "Then early one morning, I was watching the news on TV and a certain newscaster said something that felt like she was talking to me — explaining what the loss of Roe v. Wade would come to mean. I wrote the song the next morning and recorded it that night. That was Sept. 6, 2022. I have been working on it ever since."
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Lyrics for the song included, "All the rights that you had yesterday are taken away / And now you’re afraid / You should be afraid/ Because everything I fought for long ago in a dream is gone."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The music video also spliced images and clips of several women’s marches.
Nicks emphasized in her statement upon the song’s release how important it was to her and other women.
Nicks released a music video in tandem with her new single. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
"It seemed like overnight, people were saying, 'What can we, as a collective force, do about this…' For me, it was to write a song," Nicks said. "I have often said to myself, 'This may be the most important thing I ever do.' To stand up for the women of the United States and their daughters and granddaughters — and the men that love them. This is an anthem."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nicks has been outspoken about her support for abortion rights, previously calling it "my generation's fight." In 2020, she discussed her own abortion and said it was necessary to keep the band going in 1979.
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"I would have had to walk away," Nicks said. "And I knew that the music we were going to bring to the world was going to heal so many people's hearts and make people so happy."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stevie Nicks remarked how she had an abortion in 1979. (Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage)
"And I thought: you know what? That's really important," she continued. "There's not another band in the world that has two lead women singers, two lead women writers. That was my world's mission."