Edge of Seventeen (song)

"Edge of Seventeen" is a song by American singer Stevie Nicks, the third single from her successful 1981 solo debut album Bella Donna. Written by Nicks to express the grief resulting from the death of her uncle Johnathan and the murder of John Lennon during the same week of December 1980, the song features a distinctive, chugging 16th-note guitar riff, and a simple chord structure typical of Nicks's songs.

Released as a single in early 1982, it made the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 (#11), and the Top 5 of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, peaking at number four. It is one of Nicks' most enduring and recognizable songs, and has been covered by many artists. The distinctive riff was sampled by Destiny's Child in their song "Bootylicious", with Nicks in a cameo appearance in the music video. Nicks herself also played the introductory guitar riff for "Bootylicious."

1 Inspiration
2 Lyrics and Music
3 Covers and Soundtracks
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Inspiration

According to Nicks, the title came from a conversation she had with Tom Petty's first wife, Jane, about the couple's first meeting. Jane said they met "at the age of seventeen," but her strong Southern accent made it sound like "edge of seventeen" to Nicks. The singer liked the sound of the phrase so much that she told Jane she would write a song for it and give her credit for the inspiration.^[1]

Although Nicks originally planned to use the title for a song about Tom and Jane Petty^[2], the deaths of her uncle Johnathan and of John Lennon during the same week of December 1980 inspired a new song for which Nicks used the title. Nicks' producer and friend Jimmy Iovine was a close friend of Lennon, and Nicks felt helpless to comfort him. Soon after, she flew home to Phoenix, Arizona, to be with her uncle Johnathan, who was dying of cancer. She remained with her uncle and his family until his passing.^[3]

[edit] Lyrics and Music

from the music video "Edge of Seventeen"

Throughout the song a distinctive 16th note guitar riff is played by Waddy Wachtel, progressing through C, D, and E-Minor chords. During the bridge, the chords alternate twice between E-Minor and C.

As is typical of Nicks' songs, the lyrics are highly symbolic. Nicks has said that the white-winged dove represents the spirit leaving the body on death, and some of the verses capture her experience of the days leading up to her uncle Johnathan's death.^[4]

Perhaps ironic for a song named for a mondegreen, the line "Just Like a White Winged Dove" is often misheard as "Just like a One Winged Dove", thus Edge of Seventeen has been cited frequently as a source of misheard lyrics since its release, and appears on a number of misheard lyrics web sites^[5]^[6]^[7] and in books of famous misheard lyrics.^[8]

Both the guitar and drum parts are heavily derivative of "Bring on the Night", a song by The Police from their 1979 album, Regatta De Blanc. According to guitarist Waddy Wachtel, Nicks and Iovine intentionally based the song on the feel of "Bring on the Night," but Wachtel himself was unaware of this during the recording session. When he heard the Police song on the radio some time later, he was taken aback at the similarity and told Nicks over the phone "don't ever do that again!"^[9]

[edit] Covers and Soundtracks

The song's title was used for 1998's award-winning independent film Edge of Seventeen's soundtrack.

The song was featured in the 2003 comedy film School of Rock, which starred Jack Black.

The song was also covered by Jonas Tomalty on his debut album Jonas.

Alpha Rev plays part of the song as crescendo bridge during live performances of their song Leave Me Alone.

Lindsay Lohan covered the song on her second studio album A Little More Personal (Raw)

The distinctive 16th-note guitar riff of the single was sampled in the Destiny's Child song "Bootylicious." Nicks appears in the music video.

Nikki McKibbin sampled the song on American Idol Season One.

This song is featured in Grand Theft Auto IV.

High Contrast remixed this song, in his single of 2005 "Days Go By".

[edit] External links

Stevie Nicks on Edge of 17 Quotes by Nicks about the song, gathered from interviews throughout the years.
Edge of Seventeen at The Nicks Fix Lyrics and chart information about the song.

[edit] References

^ Old Trivia Questions. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. “She was telling me about Tom, about when she met him, and she has an incredible Southern accent...and she said that she met him at the age of seventeen, but I thought she said "edge", and she said "no... age" and I said "Jane, forget it, it's got to be "edge". The "Edge of Seventeen" is perfect. I'm going to write a song, ok? And I'm going to give you credit." She didn't believe me, you know? She couldn't believe it when it came out on the album.”
^ Stevie Nicks on Edge of 17. “So it started out about Tom and Jane basically, who I have no idea what they were at 17, but I made it up. And, uh it went into being written about [her Uncle Jon and John Lennon].”
^ The Sun. “Jimmy was absolutely best friends with John Lennon," she says. "So when that happened, a hush came over the house that was so overwhelming that there was nothing that I could do to help. There was nothing I could say, there was no way I could comfort him." Unable to help, Nicks flew home to Phoenix. "I went straight over to my uncle's house, and my uncle died that day. He died right there with me holding his hand, just me and my cousin, who's a little younger than me, sitting there on the bed and on the floor next to him.”
^ Rolling Stone. “The line 'And the days go by like a strand in the wind' that's how fast those days were going by during my uncle's illness, and it was so upsetting to me. The part that says 'I went today... maybe I will go again... tomorrow' refers to seeing him the day before he died. He was home and my aunt had some music softly playing, and it was a perfect place for the spirit to go away. The white-winged dove in the song is a spirit that is leaving a body, and I felt a great loss at how both Johns were taken. 'I hear the call of the nightbird singing..... come away ... come away....'”
^ The Archive of Misheard Lyrics :: Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen
^ Am I Right - Misheard Lyrics, Edge Of Seventeen
^ Bathroom On the Right: Stevie Nicks
^ Edwards, Gavin (November 5, 1997). When a Man Loves a Walnut. Fireside Books, p.66. ISBN 0684845679.
^ The Blue Letter Archives. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. “I had never heard "Bring On the Night," and at that session they told me they were going to do this song based on this feel. I had heard something about the Police, but I didn't know what they were talking about. Then about two years ago, I had the radio on, and on comes what sounds like "Edge of Seventeen"-and all of a sudden, there's Sting's voice! I thought, "We ripped them off completely!" I called Stevie that night and said, "Listen to me, don't ever do that again!"”