Second Hand News

"Second Hand News" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham. The song was first performed by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the opening track of their 1977 album Rumours. Background "Second Hand News" was a frontrunner for the lead track off of the album Rumours. According to author Jacob Hoye, its opening lines "I know there's nothing to say/Someone has taken my place" set the mood for the entire album. "Second Hand News" is one of several songs on Rumours that reflects the romantic breakup of Buckingham and bandmate Stevie Nicks. The song was inspired by the redemption Buckingham was finding in other women after the failed relationship with Nicks. He sings that although he does not trust his lover and cannot live with her, he cannot live without her either. Fleetwood Mac biographer Donald Brackett highlights the irony of lines such as "One thing I think you should know/I ain't gonna miss you when you go." According to Buckingham, the song incorporates Scottish and Irish folk song influences. Buckingham originally introduced the song to the band on the guitar without any lyrics, with the working title of "Strummer." "Strummer" has appeared on various reissues of "Rumours", including the 3-disc edition released in 2013. Buckingham initially withheld the lyrics to avoid getting into an argument with Nicks over them. The band originally played the song in a march rhythm. However, Buckingham wanted a disco-like groove for the song after hearing the Bee Gees' "Jive Talkin'". Buckingham and co-producer Richard Dashut built up the song with four audio tracks of electric guitar and the use of chair percussion to evoke Celtic rock. A Naugahyde chair was struck to create the unusual percussion sound. Originally, John McVie contributed a bass part that Ken Caillat described as "melodic" and "flowing". However, while McVie was on vacation, Buckingham put down his own bassline, one that was very simple, just quarter notes. “It worked, though. Buckingham had a grand plan in his head, and he got his way. This was the start of him really calling the shots. It became a ‘my way or the highway’ thing with him, which he perfected on the Tusk album.” McVie would eventually rerecord the bass guitar part in accordance with Buckingham's instructions, but he made slight changes to make the part his own.