Stevie Nicks Says Don Henley ‘Wishes’ She Had Written 1 Lyric About Him
Stevie Nicks is arguably one of the greatest musicians of all time. Recently, the classic rock icon announced she and Billy Joel would tour together in 2023. The star has come a long way since her early days with Fleetwood Mac. And looking back at her greatest hits, Nicks says former flame Don Henley “wishes” a line in one of her most famous songs was about him.
Stevie Nicks has written some of the greatest classic rock songs
Stevie Nicks is a living legend, and during her storied career, she has written and recorded numerous songs.
Among the 74-year-old’s greatest hits are “Rhiannon,” “Gold Dust Woman,” and “Landslide.” She also penned “Dreams,” Fleetwood Mac’s only number-one single.
Another classic is “The Chain.” And any list of Stevie Nicks’ best songs includes “Sara,” an all-time favorite.
Stevie Nicks jokes that Don Henley ‘wishes’ a line in ‘Sara’ was about him
Nicks has always exuded a mysterious and magical aura, but that never kept her from being open with fans. The performer has spoken about “Sara” often, and in a 1990 interview with Us Weekly, Nicks shared, “‘Sara’ [is my most personal song]. It’s about myself and what all of us in Fleetwood Mac were going through at the time. The true version of that song is 16 minutes long. It’s a saga with many verses people haven’t heard.”
Many speculated that the track’s title, “Sara,” was a subtle nod to her friend and Mick Fleetwood’s now ex-wife, Sara Recor, but that wasn’t the case. Nicks cleared up the matter in a 2009 interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“I used her name because I love the name so much, but it was really about what was going on with all of us at that time,” Nicks explained. “It was about Mick’s and my relationship, and it was about one I went into after Mick. Some songs are about a lot of things.”
Part of what Nicks was going through was deeply personal, and it came out in the song. At the time, her whirlwind romance with Don Henley led to a pregnancy that she ultimately terminated.
“Had I married Don and had that baby, and had she been a girl, I would have named her Sara,” Nicks revealed in a 2014 interview with Billboard.
There was one line in “Sara” that many people, including Henley himself, thought was about the Eagles frontman. The lyrics were, “But if you build that house/Then would you call me home.” However, when pressed on the matter, Nicks set the record straight.
“He wishes! Don wants to think the ‘house’ was one of the 90 houses he built — and he did build house after beautiful house, and once they were done, he would move because he wasn’t interested in them anymore,” Nicks laughed. “No. He is one of my best friends in the world. If anything happened to me, he would be there, always. But if someone said that, they’re so full of s***!”
Who else has Stevie Nicks dated besides Don Henley?
Stevie Nicks’ celebrity relationships with Don Henley and Fleetwood Mac bandmates Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood are no secret, but the talented star has had several other romances.
Early in her career, she dated Rupert Hine, a well-known English musician. And from 1983 to 1986, Nicks was linked to Joe Walsh, another famous artist. She also counts musician JD Souther, California Governor Jerry Brown, and record executive Paul Fishkin as former flames.
Nicks married only once, but the circumstances were unusual. After losing her good friend Robin Snyder to leukemia, the “Rooms on Fire” singer married Snyder’s widow, Kim Anderson. Nicks shared that she felt a duty to wed Anderson and help him raise Snyder’s child. After receiving a sign from Snyder from beyond the grave, Nicks said she knew she had to end the three-month union.
As of this writing, Nicks is single, but she hasn’t closed the door on love. In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, the star admitted to being a romantic. “Could I fall in love and run away with somebody at 72 years old? Yeah,” she said. “It’s probably not gonna happen, but it’s possible.”
