Detective JDSkills.

It turns out that flu was bronchitis in disguise.  I was not a pretty sight for the past few days, but now my voice has finally come back from the dead.  Actually I have a little confession...

You know when you are sick and you lose your voice?  Am I the only girl out there who loves to get that raspy after sick voice?  Sometimes, I blast Stevie Nicks songs and pretend I have that same beautiful rasp that she has.-Honestly!

So, that was my little confession. I pretend to sing like Stevie Nicks when I am getting over an illness. I guess it is just my way of putting a positive twist on a bad situation.

 On my way home I was blasting the demo for Gold Dust Woman, which is on the Rumours album.  This version can be found on the Rumours Deluxe Edition CD.  I advise all of you readers to get yourself a copy of this CD.  It gives you an inside listen as to what the recording of the Rumours album was like.  You are able to listen to the magic that went into the making of this legendary album.

Now, listen to the demo at mark 3:50 onward.  Nicks sneaks in a bit of another song that she must have been working on at the time.  If You Ever Did Believe was a song that Nicks wrote in the 1970's.  It was brought back in 1998  when the film Practical Magic was released. 

In this following clip, Nicks gives her view on the power of music within a film.  You can also hear the polished version of the song, If You Ever Did Believe.

Play the clip at 3:32.  Sound familiar?  Thats because you heard the same thing in the Gold Dust Woman demo clip!  Not only is this just a cool tidbit, but it makes me want to speculate the meaning of If You Ever Did Believe.  Nicks has said in the past that Gold Dust Woman is about the use of drugs, cocaine in particular, and she tends to shy away from this song being about anything romantic in nature.

Okay, I beg to differ. Yes, I know that Stevie Nicks of all people would know the meaning to her own songs, but I can't help but think that this song has multiple meanings.  As I take a look at the lyrics to Gold Dust Woman, I see lyrics that refer to both cocaine use as well as the unraveling of a romantic relationship.  Take a look at the lyrics here.


Now, lets play detective...

• The Rumours album is known to be an album inspired by the breakups of the various members within the band.
• The fact that Nicks intertwined the lyrics to If You Ever Did Believe into the end of the demo track of Gold Dust Woman, leads me to believe that IYEDB (yes I abbreviate...) was in the running to be on the Rumours album.  It is clearly another song that is directed at guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham.
• The demo for If You Ever Did Believe was from 1976. The Rumours album was released in 1977. Hmm..

So I leave you with this question.  Is If You Ever Did Believe really an extension of Gold Dust Woman?  My musical investigation leads me to believe that it is.

JDSkills