Following the death of Christine McVie on Wednesday, Stevie Nicks, McVie’s longtime Fleetwood Mac bandmate, penned a tear-jerking goodbye to her friend of nearly 50 years. While the two lauded singer-songwriters collectively contributed a slew of classic songs to the Fleetwood Mac repertoire and beyond, a song by a different, more contemporary group of “women in music,” HAIM, was on Stevie’s mind as she reflected on the loss.”
“A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975 had passed away,” Nicks said in a hand-written note posted to her social media accounts. “I didn’t even know she was ill… until late Saturday night. I wanted to be in London; I wanted to get to London—but we were told to wait.”
“So, since Saturday, one song has been swirling around in my head, over and over and over,” she continued. “I thought I might possibly get to sing it with her, and so, I’m singing it to her now.”
“I always knew I would need these words,” Nicks continued, underlining the last two for emphasis, “(written by the Ladies Haim). [It’s] all I can do now.”
Stevie continued the note with the final verse of HAIM’s “Hallelujah”, the Women In Music Pt. III track that recounts Alana Haim‘s experience learning about the tragic death of her own best friend:
I had a best friend
But she has come to pass
One I wish I could see now
You always remind me
That memories will last
These arms reach out
You were there to protect me
Like a shield
Long hair running with me
Through the field…
Everywhere,
You’ve been with me all along
“See you on the other side, my love,” Nicks ended the note. “Don’t forget me. Always, Stevie.”
The sisters of HAIM surely empathize with the grief that Nicks is feeling in the wake of McVie’s passing. As Alana Haim wrote about “Hallelujah” on social media ahead of the song’s 2020 release, “I went through a really dark time when I was 20. I woke up on a hazy October morning to find out that my best friend, Sammi Kane Kraft, had passed away in a tragic car accident. It was a loss that changed my life forever. … Losing her put a lot of things into perspective for me.”
“I’m not the same, I’ll never be the same,” Haim continued. “The me before took love, friends and family for granted. Now there won’t be a day that goes by where I don’t tell everyone I love how special they are to me. Though I miss her everyday I know she’s still here sending me little messages, little signs everywhere I go.”
As HAIM responded to Stevie Nicks in a comment on her Christine McVie remembrance on Instagram, “rip beautiful songbird ❤️❤️❤️❤️we love u stevie.”
Below, read the full note from Stevie Nicks on the death of Christine McVie and listen to the HAIM song that’s been “swirling” around Stevie’s head in the wake of Christine’s passing.
We’ll miss you, Christine McVie.
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HAIM – “Hallelujah” (Official Video)