I know that things have gotta change
“Lady” is a track from 24 Karat Gold — Songs from the Vault (2014), Stevie Nicks’ eighth solo album. A 15-second preview of the song was released to Stevie Nicks’ official social media sites on Sunday, August 24, 2014. The full-length version was released on iTunes and Amazon.com as the album’s second digital single on Monday, August 25, 2014.
A lyric video, created by music video director Brad Strickman, accompanied the song’s release. On September 4, 2014, another music video for the song, directed by Paul Boyd, was released. In the second video, Stevie is featured singing alone on the stage, with Dave playing the piano backstage. The video was filmed at the historic Ace Theatre in Los Angeles on July 28, 2014.
Lyrics
Come lately
I just keep on waitin’
I see nothin’ out there
The sun keeps throwin’ out
The light from the clouds
But there’s no light in here
I know that things have gotta change
But how to change them isn’t unclear
I’m tired of knockin’ on doors
When there’s nobody there
You know I’m tired of knockin’ on doors
When there’s nobody there
And the time keeps goin’ on by
And I wonder what is to become of me
And I’m unsure
I can’t see my way
And he says Lady you don’t have to see
And the time keeps goin’ on by
And I wonder what is to become of me
And I’m unsure
I can’t see my way
And he says Lady you don’t need to see
And he says Lady you don’t need to see
Come lately
I just keep on waitin’
I see nothin’ out there
The sun keeps throwin’ out
Its light from the clouds
But there’s no light in here
I know that things have gotta change
But how to change them isn’t unclear
I’m tired of knockin’ on doors
When there’s nobody there
You know I’m tired of knockin’ on doors
When there’s nobody there
And the time keeps going on by
And I wonder what is to become of me
And I’m unsure
I can’t see my way
And see says Lady you don’t need to see
And the time keeps goin’ on by
And I wonder what is to become of me
And I’m unsure
I can’t see my way
And he says Lady you don’t need to see
And the time keeps goin’ on by
And I wonder what is to become of me
And I’m unsure
I can’t see my way
And he says Lady you don’t need to see
And he says Lady you don’t need to see
And he says maybe you don’t need to see
Oh, no…
(Stevie Nicks) © 2014 Welsh Witch Music (BMI). Administered by Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing (BMI)
About the Song
“Lady” dates back to an early 1970s demo, sometimes called “Knockin’ on Doors,” which Stevie wrote on a piano in producer Keith Olsen’s house. According to Stevie, it was the first song she had ever written on a piano. At the time, she and Lindsey Buckingham were recording as the duo Buckingham Nicks, struggling to succeed as recording artists in Los Angeles. In the song, Stevie addresses her fears and uncertainty about this time in her life, pondering, “What is to become of me?”
“I think ‘Lady’ was written at the end of 1971 or beginning of 1972, when Lindsey and I got our first piano. I think it was the first song I ever wrote on a piano.”
Official Lyric Video
[jwplayer mediaid=”16447″]‘Lady’ Commentary
[jwplayer mediaid=”17526″]Original Demo
[jwplayer mediaid=”17476″]Reference
Tannenbaum, R. (2014). Stevie Nicks admits past pregnancy with Don Henley and more about her wild history. Billboard.
