The Real Story Behind “Over My Head” by Fleetwood Mac

In September 1975, with the publication of “Over My Head,” Fleetwood Mac became the moveable feast of damaged relationships and sparkling pop wonders.

Everything that came after this Christine McVie-penned song served as a guidepost or an echo of it. The debut Top 40 hit for the band in the United States is an atmospheric introduction, much like an actual unveiling. Riding on a single note, the day has the hazy quality of a spring-winter fulcrum day, full of promise but also a slight cold in the air.

Later, she admitted to BBC that the song was inspired by her fondness for bandmate Lindsey Buckingham. “He was that kind of guy, he could be cold as ice, and then he could be great. So I took that feeling I was feeling, and I turned it into a song,” McVie said.

As each member of the band poke at each other’s volatile personalities in songs about them, hiding the content behind upbeat melodies and positive choruses, this song marked a turning point in Fleetwood Mac’s approach to music.

By the early 1970s, Fleetwood Mac released five albums and had begun to move away from their blues roots when Christine joined the band to replace Peter Green. “The style had to change because I was a keyboard player,” McVie said via The Guardian. “And it developed a more commercial bent. It was thrilling, and I have to say to this day, it still kind of is, knowing I did that.”