“Leather and Lace” is Track 8 on Bella Donna, Stevie Nicks’ first solo album. It is duet with Eagles drummer Don Henley. It follows “How Still My Love” and precedes “Outside the Rain” in the album track order.
About the Song
“I wrote ‘Leather and Lace’ for Waylon (Jennings) because he called and asked me to write a song called ‘Leather and Lace.’And I had never written a song for somebody especially for somebody that had given me a title. Well, I wrote the chorus, and I called him and said, “I’ve written the chorus,” and we’ve sent it to him. And he called back and said, “Finish it!” So I was under a lot of pressure to finish this song whereas in…usually if I don’t want to finish something, I don’t finish it.
“I was going out with Don Henley at the time. And I would play it for Don. And he would say, ‘That’s terrible! Start over.’ And I would say, ‘Oh, I can’t believe you said that,’ and I would start over. Not that he ever jumped up and down about it, but there did come a time when said ‘Okay, it’s acceptable’ and we recorded it. We made a demo of it that is so similar to the record that a lot people don’t even notice it if I put the demo on. It’s that similar. And I was playing guitar, (sarcastically) sterling guitar, and he was singing. I mean, we were singing, you know, (singing) ‘Sometimes I’m a strong man‘ exactly, exactly the same.
“And so when I started to do this album, we called him, and I said ‘Don, I can’t do this song without you. So if Waylon doesn’t do it and you don’t do it, it doesn’t get done ’cause I wrote this song for a man and a woman in the music business that are trying to work out their problems together. You know, your spirit and my spirit is greatly in it, as is Waylon’s and Jessi’s. In fact, much more ’cause I don’t know them. And so will you please come down and listen to the track and see what you think.’
“And he came down, and I was working on another song and I guess he must have been pleased because he sang on the record. And he’s a hard one to get to, even for me. And he would do anything for me, but he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t think it was good. So that was probably the greatest compliment of all that he is even on this record because he wouldn’t have put his voice on this record if he didn’t think it was up to his standards.”
Lyrics
Is love so fragile
And the heart so hollow
Shatter with words
Impossible to follow
You’re saying I’m fragile I try not to be
I search only for something I can’t see
I have my own life and I am stronger
Than you know
But I carry this feeling
When you walked into my house
That you won’t be walking out the door
Still I carry this feeling
When you walked into my house
That you won’t be walking out the door
Lovers forever face to face
My city your mountains
Stay with me stay
I need you to love me
I need you today
Give to me your leather
Take from me my lace
You in the moonlight
With your sleepy eyes
Could you ever love a man like me
And you were right
When I walked into your house
I knew I’d never want to leave
Sometimes I’m a strong man
Sometimes cold and scared
And sometimes I cry
But that time I saw you
I knew with you to light my nights
Somehow I’d get by
First time I saw you
I knew with you to light my nights
Somehow I would get by
Lovers forever face to face
My city your mountains
Stay with me stay
I need you to love me
I need you today
Give to me your leather
Take from me my lace
Lovers forever face to face
My city your mountains
Stay with me stay
I need you to love me
I need you to stay
Give to me your leather
Take from me my lace
Take from me my lace
Take from me my lace
(Stevie Nicks) © 1975 Welsh Witch Music (BMI) admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Release
Released on October 6, 1981, “Leather and Lace” was the second single from Bella Donna. Issued as a 3:27 single edit, the song peaked at No. 6 (3 weeks) on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. In the U.S. “Bella Donna” was the b-side track. In the UK, “Outside the Rain” was the b-side.
A slightly longer version of “Leather and Lace” (3:55) appears on Enchanted: The Works of Stevie Nicks (1998).
Reference
Nicks, S. (1981). Stevie Nicks Interview. Denis McNamara, interviewer, WLIR 92.7 FM
