I’m so afraid of the way I feel…

In “I’m So Afraid”, Lindsey Buckingham is featured almost exclusively, so we really get to see his music ability. His most obvious skill is his guitar playing. He uses a very unique finger-style with his right hand. I’m So Afraid might be confused as a “jam song”. It is not. Though it does have several memorable guitar solos, they are all rehearsed; he is not improvising over a set of chords. Lindsey has this all mapped out. He fits so many motifs into one solo.

The fact that he can sing over that complicated guitar playing is amazing too. Singing complicated vocals on top of complicated guitar parts is just silly. And he has a great voice. We always know what he was feeling when he wrote a song, because he delivers his performances with emotion and energy.

Christine McVie’s organ is the perfect accompanying instrument. It gives off the vibe of a haunted house. It is like we are looking inside Lindsey’s haunted soul and we see he is just an angry, frightened young man.

The original album-release was slightly overproduced and it sounds too slick. His live performances are where we truly capture the greatness of this work. That would happen to him again with what is perhaps his best performance of all-time.  As such, this is a deeper cut of Fleetwood Mac, but a great song nonetheless.

Everyone knows about Fleetwood Mac’s inter-band problems and relationship dramas. That is part of the reason their music is so interesting and fun. A small part. One of my favorite squabbles was when they fired Lindsey Buckingham.  Lindsey Buckingham is Fleetwood Mac. That would be like the Police firing Sting or CSR firing John Fogerty. (They had to hire two guitarists to replace Lindsey).

The casual Fleetwood mac fan might think I am crazy– clearly Stevie Nicks is the draw. She’s fantastic but this is Lindsey’s band. He produced the sound, played guitar like a god and could sing and write…and was one of Stevie’s favorites muses. And for those who still doubt…it was Christine McVie who called it Lindsey’s band.

I’m So Afraid Lyrics

I been alone
All the years
So many ways to count the tears

I never change
I never will
I’m so afraid the way I feel

Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony’s torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die

I been alone
Always down
No one cared to stay around

I never change
I never will
I’m so afraid the way I feel

Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony’s torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die

How I feel
Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony’s torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die

Written by Lindsey Buckingham