“Rock a Little (Go Ahead Lily)” (3:39) is Track 2 on Rock a Little (1985), Stevie Nicks‘ third solo album. It follows “I Can’t Wait” and precedes “Sister Honey” in the album track order.
About ‘Rock a Little’
Stevie Nicks wrote ‘Rock a Little’ about a lecture that she received from her father, Jess, and then-manager Rebecca Alvarez. It was a pep-talk of sorts to encourage Stevie to overcome her problems of the moment and continue performing.
“[‘Rock a Little’] came from my dad and from my friend Rebecca (Alvarez) saying to me, ‘You know, we don’t care how you feel. You have to go up there and do a show now.’ People in my other everyday, sunny-day life call me Lily, and so my dad would say, ‘Go ahead, Lily, hit it, rock a little, hit the stage, get up. If you don’t feel good, go home.’ And Rebecca would say the same thing. So this whole thing kind of came about as a statement: It doesn’t really matter what your problems are, Stevie, or what is going through your life right now. What really matters is that you have to get up and go out there onstage, and that’s what you live for, so go ahead and do that now. There’s this one part that is about my dad, ‘He knows his daughter / They say where does she live / He says, oh, up there somewhere / And then he says go ahead Lily, hit it, hit the stage.’
“So that’s kind of what my life is. I had to make a lot of changes and stops and understand what was going on in my life — that was other people influencing me and talking to me, making me feel certain ways that maybe I let my own self go a little bit and not rely on my own intuitions, which are always the best ones for me, and I’m always right. So to not believe in myself, I think, was the thing that I did was the wrong thing. I didn’t believe in myself for a few days, for a few minutes; a few lifetimes went by. And now I know that it was all really okay.” (Nicks, 1985)
Two Versions
There are two released versions of “Rock a Little”: Album Version (3:39) and an alternate extended version (5:15), which appears as the b-side of the international (outside US and Canada) vinyl single releases for “I Can’t Wait.” The alternate version includes different vocals and runs approximately longer than its album counterpart.
The alternate version, presumably intended for the album, runs about 1-minute and 25 seconds minutes longer than the album version. It contains different vocals.
Alternate Extended Version
‘Rock a Little’ Lyrics
Sometimes it rages
Rock a little
Even when it’s calm
Rock a little
Just like the sea
Still I rock a little
Say it was just like me
Still rock a little
And you knew her
Funny little dancer
And you watched her all night long
You were trying to learn from her teachers
One thing that she wanted
She would not be tangled up in it
Hit it
(Rock a…)
It’s about time, Lily
Ooh, I know, Lily
Hit the stage
Dancin’
(Rock a little)
Hit it
She’s home now
She says
I’ve gone far beyond that song
Rock and roll ballerina
Where else would she go
He knows his daughter says
Where does she live
He says
Oh, up there somewhere
Then he says
Go ahead, Lily
Hit it
(Go ahead, Lily)
Hit it
It’s about time, Lily
(Hit it)
Hit it
Oh, well, I know, Lily
(Rock a little)
Hit it
Hit the stage
(Rock a little)
Lots of them and all one of a kind
But the most important thing was what is on her mind
Pale pink satin worn out in a week
But she loved you the most
And you said
Go ahead, Lily
Hit it
(Go ahead, Lily)
No explanations and I tell you no
You say nothing
That is how songs are written
Stories are told
Rumors are started
Ooh, but they still stay
Go ahead, Lily
Hit it
Hit it
It’s about time, Lily
Hit the stage
Dancin’, I know
(Go ahead, Lily)
(Stevie Nicks/Rick Nowels) © 1985 Welsh Witch Music (BMI)/Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Musicians
| Sharon Celani | Background vocals |
| Kenny Edwards | Bass |
| Russ Kunkel | Drums |
| Marilyn Martin | Background vocals |
| Lori Nicks | Background vocals |
| Stevie Nicks | Lead vocals |
| Billy Payne and Rick Nowels | Synthesizer |
| Jamie Sheriff | Programmer/Synth Strings |
| Waddy Wachtel | Guitar |
Production Credits
| Tom “Gordo” Gondolf and Shelly Yakus | Recording Engineers, Goodnight Dallas |
| Jimmy Iovine | Producers |
| Gabe Veltri | Overdubs, Village Recorders, Record One |
| Shelly Yakus | Mixer |
Chart History – I Can’t Wait/Rock a Little (Australia/Europe/New Zealand)
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 20 |
| German GfK Entertainment | 58 |
| Irish Singles | 29 |
| New Zealand Recorded Music | 39 |
| UK Singles | 54 |
Release History
- Rock a Little (1985)
- “I Can’t Wait”/”Rock a Little”) – International 7″ vinyl single (1985)
- “I Can’t Wait (Extended Version)/”Rock a Little”/”I Can’t Wait”) – International 12″ vinyl maxi-single (1985)
References
Nicks, S. (1985). Interview
< I Can’t Wait | Rock a Little | Sister Honey >
