Stevie Nicks Protests Reversal of Roe v. Wade With ‘The Lighthouse’

Stevie Nicks has released her first original single in four years, “The Lighthouse,” which she says she has been working on since the rights guaranteed by Roe v. Wade were overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022. The fresh track was produced by the trio of Nicks, Sheryl Crow and Dave Cobb.

In a statement about the new release, the ex-Fleetwood Mac singer indicated just how important the theme is for her. “I have often said to myself: This may be the most important thing I ever do, to stand up for the women of the United States and their daughters and granddaughters — and the men that love them,” Nicks said. “This is an anthem.”

Nicks will be performing the song as the featured musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” Oct. 12, a week that finds Ariana Grande hosting. This will mark her first “SNL” appearance since December 1983, when she was promoting her second solo album.

In the new song, she sings from both outrage and hope. “All the rights that you had yesterday are taken away / And now you’re afraid / You should be afraid,” she sings. “Because everything I fought for long ago in a dream is gone.” But, she adds later, “Don’t let it happen again / I have my scars, you have yours / Don’t let them take your power / Don’t leave it alone in the final hours.”

“I wrote this song a few months after Roe v. Wade was overturned,” she explained in her statement. “It seemed like overnight, people were saying, ‘What can we, as a collective force, do about this…’ For me, it was to write a song. It took a while because I was on the road. Then early one morning I was watching the news on TV and a certain newscaster said something that felt like she was talking to me — explaining what the loss of Roe v. Wade would come to mean. I wrote the song the next morning and recorded it that night. That was Sept. 6, 2022. I have been working on it ever since.”

Nicks co-wrote the song with Magnus Birgersson and Vincent Villuis. Crow, who produced Nicks’ “Practical Magic” tracks in the late ’90s, plays electric guitar and bass on the recording as well as co-producing, with Cobb also contributing guitar. Nicks’ longtime guitar player through her entire solo career, Waddy Wachtel, is on the track as well, with Philip Town on keys and Lori Nicks joining Crow on background vocals.

Nicks’ last originally penned release, in 2020, another socially conscious non-album track — completed with then-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in mind — was “Show Them the Way.” In the intervening period, Nicks also released her version of “For What It’s Worth.”

Earlier this month, on Sept. 11, Nicks put a statement on social media encouraging fans to register to vote. She said she was echoing her friend Taylor Swift’s words, although she did not go as far as Swift in endorsing a presidential candidate. “As my friend Taylor Swift so eloquently stated, now is the time to research and choose the candidate that speaks to you and your beliefs… Your vote in this election may be one of the most important things you ever do,” Nicks noted, including a link to vote.gov. However, she may have sent a strong signal of which ticket she favors when she signed the missive: “Love, Stevie Nicks, Childless Dog Lady.”