Back in 1981, the Top 5 “Billboard Mainstream Rock” flaunted in fourth place the song “Edge of Seventeen”, which first saw the light of day at the beginning of this year. It was the third single from the album “Bella Donna”, which was a solo and debut for the singer Stevie Nicks in 1981. An explosion of popularity followed, including, thanks to the live performance, many charts could not withstand the pressure of the success of this work. 1982 was marked by the nomination of the work for the Grammy Award.
Stevie Nicks, whose full name is Stephanie Lynn Nicks, is a legendary American singer and songwriter. Among other songs, “Frontier 17” breaks ahead in terms of length and recording of the singer. Now it is one of the most famous works among the Knicks’ repertoire. Many performers have chosen the single for their own performances. It contains Stevie’s characteristic simple chord, drum rhythm, and a low-frequency guitar riff of 16 notes.
History of creation
Stevie Nicks herself said that the root cause of the Edge of Seventeen was born was a conversation with Jane, who was the first wife of Tom Petty, back in the late 1970s. The girl had a prominent southern accent, which confused Nicks. In a story about Jane meeting her future husband, she mentioned that the couple got to know each other at the age of 17. However, Stevie heard “line 17”, which she liked so much, stuck in her head and eventually inspired her to write a song. According to Stevie Jane did not believe her words until the single was released to the world.
However, leaving such a name for the story of Jane and Tom did not work out. Stevie’s uncle, Jonathan, died in late 1980 from bowel cancer. Returning home, the niece was by his side until the very last moment of his life. Around the same time, John Lennon, musician and singer, founder of The Beatles, also died. Under the surging feelings, the girl wrote a new work, which she initially wanted to dedicate to her uncle, but in the end she dedicated it to both. After returning from Phoenix after her uncle’s death, Stevie sat down to work to drown out her grief and pour all her feelings into a song that she continued to work on. Later, she shared that her uncle would have wished that she would not drown in melancholy, but “immediately sat down at the piano.”
The meaning of the “Stevie Nicks – Edge Of Seventeen”
Nicks’ songs have always been characterized by symbolism in the words and expressions used. Therefore, “Edge Of Seventeen” did not bypass this. The sad experience and upheavals have resulted in atmospheric lines and an infectious melody. According to Stevie herself, the “white-winged dove” (Russian translation) symbolizes the soul, which is released from the body of the dying. The experiences and feelings that the girl experienced during the death of Jonathan resulted in these lines.
Many book articles and website articles about misrepresentations cite this particular song as an example, because in the title and text it can also be heard as “white-winged dove”, like “one-winged dove” in Russian, but it is also present in the original.
Nicks herself explained some lines of her song. “And the days fly by like a feather in the wind” – about how fleeting time is when you do not notice what is happening around because of concern for the person dying in front of you. The girl was frightened by what was happening to her loved one. The lines “I left today, maybe I’ll leave again tomorrow” refer to Stevie’s meeting with his uncle, the day after which he died.
The idea for the words about the white-winged dove came to Stevie while reading the menu when she came to eat at a restaurant in Phoenix. The lines she read seemed to Nyx to epitomize the kind of person Jonathan was.
As a result, the girl said that the lyrics of the song were about violent death. It was the first loss of a close family member that she experienced. The dove became a symbol of sadness and pain in those months before and after Jonathan’s death.
The singer has not forgotten the one that gave birth to the idea of “Frontier 17”. Jay Potti was credited on the album in which the song was released. This piece is very important to Stevie, so at the end of the evenings she almost always performs it. It brings her back to old memories, but now the meaning is different for the singer. No longer just a sad song about mourning and loss, but also about love and peace.
