Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Go Your Own Way" (Fleetwood Mac)



Hey there!!!  Thanks for joining us today at Tuesday's Musical Notes, where we attempt to answer the burning question...does anyone really know what time it is?  Sorry, Notes for another time, but we are here to explore a classic song and give it a contradistinctive twist.  Wasn't that a version of Chubby Checker's song?  Maybe not, be we do guarantee the opportunity to learn more about this favorite song and maybe, just maybe, a little bit more about ourselves in the process!  Are you ready? 


For 52 years, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have been playing in the band named after them,  Fleetwood Mac.  Over the course of that time, they have seen 8 guitar players and a basic "core" group come and go. 
Their commercial success is without question.  They are included on "Best of" lists all through popular music.   4 of the current 6 band members have been around for the most successful of Fleetwood Mac's albums, including Rumours, the Diamond certified (albums selling in excess of 10 million units, as of 2016 only 92 existed:  All 92 Diamond-Certified Albums Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take by Andrew Unterberger 9/29/2016 billboard.com
) record that feature's today's 1976 smash hit, "Go Your Own Way".  Do you remember where your copy Rumours is?

"Go Your Own Way" was the first single from Rumours and was released just in time for the Christmas season of 1976.  The song's soaring up the charts prepared the way for the full album to go to #1 and see the release of 3 more singles.  "Dreams", "You Make Loving Fun" and "Don't Stop" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Don't Stop").  All 4 of Rumours' singles made the top ten and paved the way for Fleetwood Mac to dominate record sales and sell-out concert venues around the world in the late 70s and early 80s.

Like "Go Your Own Way" so many of the songs from Rumours are introspective of the turmoil that was going on in the personal lives of the band.  Lindsay Buckingham is said to have written "Go Your Own Way" as a way to seek revenge at Stevie Nicks for ending their relationship.  He had known her since he was 16 and upon their inclusion in the band on New Year's Eve in 1974 they were integral in reinventing the sound of Fleetwood Mac .  Buckingham has said that his ability to get over the breakup with Nicks was aided by writing songs about the breakup, including "Go Your Own Way" and some other songs from the Rumours album.  (Songexploder Episode 150: Fleetwood Mac)  

The results of Fleetwood Mac's relationship choices resulted in one of the most well-known albums in musical history.  What results can be attributed to some of your choices?  

Since the dawn of history, mankind has been going their own way.  Genesis 3 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel  This passage details Adam's choice between 2 trees.  God, who created everything including Adam, instructed Adam to not eat from 1 tree.  But alas, Adam decided to go his own way.  Based on what we continue to read in the Bible and throughout history, this wasn't the right thing to do.  But, bless his heart, Adam couldn't change the way he felt.  God was prepared to give Adam His world.  But Adam in his pride tried to take it from God.  As we have noted in previous Notes, the astounding part is that Adam chose the knowledge of good and evil over eternal life!

This isn't the only example of mankind going their own way.  After the children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea on dry land and seen other miracles on their journey to their homeland, they decided to go their own way and not invade the land that God had told them He had already given to them.  A trip that should have only taken 2-3 weeks lasted 40 years because of this poor choice.  Numbers 13-14 NASB/The Message/KJV

The wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, wrote several things about going your own way:  


In reading these passages, and by reading the Bible in its entirety, it is easy to see that mankind should not be left to go their own way.  Jesus, as a portion of His sermon on the mount, taught about the way a man should go:  


For me, it isn't always easy to follow God's pathway, but it sure makes life much easier when I do.  I can't be left to my own devices.  That is why I must have a solid relationship with the God who created me and knows what is best for my life.  

Friend, you have a choice.  You can go your own way, you can call it another lonely day...  Or, you can surrender today.  

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy


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