The Story Behind The Song: Fleetwood Mac's deathly brilliance on ...

(Credits: Far Out / Fleetwood Mac / Reprise Records)

There’s always something inherently stark about the image of winter trees in the mist. Bleak, of course, in the metaphorical sense where bright and colourful leaves have become displaced by skeletal branches reaching into the grey sky like a haze of memories. The perfect setting, nonetheless, for a lesser-appreciated chapter in the story of Fleetwood Mac.

Although it seems difficult to believe at times, Fleetwood Mac enjoyed a few successful years before they welcomed Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham into their lineup. The pair changed the band’s sound exponentially, but before this, they were celebrated for their ability to converge folk and rock sounds in a way that sounded completely innovative at the time.

Bare Trees occurred during a pivotal time, notably due to the contributions of guitarist and songwriter Danny Kirwan, who gave the record an overarching haunting and ambient atmosphere, making it feel like a deeply personal affair even if the lyrics don’t always make the messages immediately clear. Though many of the songs don’t directly address macabre themes like death, the sonic aura feels melancholic and fragile, almost like a true reflection of life’s multifaceted experiences and Kirwan’s own battles with mental health.

Despite the array of poignant tracks throughout the entire album, the title track is the one that perhaps best epitomised Kirwan’s creative talents and his contributions to Fleetwood Mac in a more general sense. Kirwan was only 18 years old when Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood discovered him in a bar in Brixton, after which they realised he was “full of ideas that helped move Fleetwood Mac out of the blues and into rock music mainstream.”

He wrote ‘Bare Trees’ at the age of 22 after being inspired by a poem by an old lady named Mrs Scarrot, who lived near their home in London. The poem, Thoughts on a Grey Day, included the line: “God bless our prefect, perfect grey day with trees so bare—so bare.” Kirwan, who found the imagery ethereal and evocative, decided it formed the perfect image for the song and the record’s broader notes of mortality and unavoidable life cycles.

Meditating on the passing of time and the flippancy of human emotions is something Fleetwood Mac would constantly revisit throughout their tenure, especially in the dark desires hidden within Nicks’ mystical lyricism, but ‘Bare Trees’ presented a less abstract and less surreal exploration, owed partially to Kirwan’s quiet brilliance but also to the earthy side of the band that rarely came to the fore in their later, more commercial ventures.

Although funky in the immediate notes, ‘Bare Trees’ balances the macabre nature of life with its engaging and upbeat rhythm, reflecting the duality of existence and how recognising the fact that time on earth is brief can be utilised as a gift, reframing perspectives and yielding a newfound sense of gratitude. Despite it being a “cold night,” the song plays on the idea that there’s always warmth to be found, even in the most unexpected places.

Kirwan played a big part in shaping the band in the early days, so much that his departure is often overlooked. In ‘Bare Trees’, and many other tracks on the album, you can hear the subtle glimpse of what was to come, namely in the dark yet rhythmic guitar licks and endearing melodies—two things that epitomised the appeal of Fleetwood Mac in their later years.

Above all, however, Kirwan utilised the power of a singular voice and how injecting personal experiences often enhances the emotional appeal of music. Drawing inspiration from things as simple as lines in a poem or fleeting moments in nature, Kirwan transformed images others would deem bleak—like misty winter trees—and drew out their inherent intimacy and vulnerability.

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