"I'm So Afraid" is a song written by

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

for the British-American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

for their tenth album, ''

''. The song was intended for a second

Buckingham Nicks ''Buckingham Nicks'' is the only studio album by the duo of American rock guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks, both of whom later joined Fleetwood Mac. Produced by Keith Olsen, the album was released in September 1973 by Pol ...

album, but the album never came to fruition.

Background

Like all other Buckingham and Nicks compositions on Fleetwood Mac's 1975 eponymous album, “I'm So Afraid” was written before Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac. "It made the process of cutting that first album much easier than it would've otherwise been, working with people we'd never worked with before." "I'm So Afraid" is the final track of the album, and was released as the B-side to the song " Over My Head". It is a hard rock song, atypical of Fleetwood Mac's songs (at least following the Peter Green era), but it quickly became a live staple showcasing Lindsey Buckingham's guitar skills. The studio version of the song is in G

natural minor In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which als ...

, but live versions are usually transposed down to F

. The music is borrowed from

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's short song "This little babe" from his suite, A Ceremony of Carols. Buckingham incorporated musical themes from church music in "I'm So Afraid" and used the guitar in an orchestral sense. Producer

Ken Caillat Kenneth Douglas Caillat ( ) is an American record producer. He is best known for engineering the Fleetwood Mac albums '' Rumours'', ''Tusk'', ''Mirage'', ''Live'', and '' The Chain Box Set''. Life and career Caillat was the president of 5.1 Ent ...

noted how different "I'm So Afraid" sounded during live performances. Compared to the album version, which Caillat described as "mellower with a folk rock vibe", live performances saw "I'm So Afraid" become a “faster, hard-edged song. The song appeared on all of the band's live albums recorded after its release, including ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'', '' The Dance'', '' Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston'', and on the 2015 box set of ''

Tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share c ...

''. The live recording from ''The Dance'' was included in an edited form on the US 2002 and UK 2009 release of the greatest hits compilation album ''

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac ''The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac'' is an enhanced compilation album released by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac in 2002 to promote their then-upcoming album '' Say You Will'' (2003). It was released as a double album in the US on 12 Oct ...

''. Buckingham also included the song on his solo live albums ''

Live at the Bass Performance Hall ''Live at the Bass Performance Hall'' is a live album by Fleetwood Mac guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham. It was released on March 25, 2008 on DVD and a CD/DVD combo. The performances were recorded at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Wort ...

'', '' Songs from the Small Machine: Live in L.A.,'' and ''

One Man Show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

''. The song was also featured in a second-season episode of ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'' in 1985.

Track listing

*US vinyl, 7", Single (Reprise Records - RPS 1339) #" Over My Head" – 3:17 #"I'm So Afraid" – 4:15

Personnel

– lead vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitar *

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

– keyboards *

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

– backing vocals *

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fle ...

– bass guitar *

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of th ...

– drums

References

{{Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac songs 1976 singles Songs written by Lindsey Buckingham Song recordings produced by Keith Olsen Reprise Records singles