I'm So Afraid

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.{{Cite web |last1=Lenker|first1=Maureen Lee|date=14 September 2021|title=Lindsey Buckingham Breaks Down 10 of His Best Guitar Riffs |url=https://ew.com/music/lindsey-buckingham-fleetwood-mac-stories-behind-the-songs/ |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=EW.com |language=en}} Buckingham wrote the song around the time he was suffering from a bout of mononucleosis.{{cite book|title=Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams, & Rumours|last=Howe|first=Zoë|page=23|year=2015|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-1-4683-1066-5|url=https://archive.org/details/stevienicksvisio0000howe/page/22/mode/2up}} Mick Fleetwood said in his 2014 autobiography that Buckingham had labored over the song for four years and had "gotten the harmony of the guitar parts so in tune they were a virtual orchestra unto themselves." Buckingham incorporated musical themes from church music on "I'm So Afraid" and built the song's chord progression around a series of triads.

"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 Buckingham's guitar skills.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/fleetwood-macs-50-greatest-songs-192324/|title=Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs [No. 34]|last=Sheffield|first=Christopher R. Weingarten, David Browne, Jon Dolan, Corinne Cummings, Keith Harris, Rob|date=11 July 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=20 September 2019}} The studio version of the song is in G natural minor, but live versions are usually transposed down to F natural minor.Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis, p.89. {{ISBN|978-0-300-09239-4}}.

In his book Making Rumours, producer Ken Caillat noted differences between the studio and live versions of "I'm So Afraid". 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."{{Cite book|last=Caillat|first=Ken|title="Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album"|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|year=2012|isbn=978-1-118-21808-2|location=Hoboken, New Jersey|pages=186}} Buckingham said that performing the song live is "very taxing on a nightly basis because it's got this very long solo that I have to do every night."{{cite AV media |people=Malcolm Gerrie; Buckingham, Lindsey|title=Lindsey Buckingham Talks Music |date=22 October 2012 |medium=Interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIThSD4PAzs |time=37:28–37:46 |url-status=live|access-date=15 January 2025}}{{cbignore}} He has also played the song for solo performances, beginning with the Out of the Cradle Tour in 1992–1993.{{Cite news |last=Heng |first=Melissa |date=March 18, 1993 |title=Buckingham Does Just Fine Solo, Also Offers Some Fleetwood Mac |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=128&c=9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230161251/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=128&c=9 |archive-date=30 December 2015 |access-date=21 January 2024 |work=Pioneer Press |via=The Blue Letter Archives}}

The song appeared on all of the band's live albums recorded after its release, including Live, The Dance, Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston, the 2015 box set of Tusk, and Rumours Live.{{Cite book |title=Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters |publisher=Chicago Review Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-161373-234-2 |editor-last=Egan |editor-first=Sean |page=76}}{{cite web |last1=Sinclair |first1=Paul |title=Fleetwood Mac / Tusk / 8-disc super deluxe edition box set |url=http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/fleetwood-mac-tusk-8-disc-super-deluxe-edition-box-set/ |website=Super Deluxe Edition |date=29 October 2015 |access-date=11 November 2018}}{{Cite web |last=Vito |first=Jo|date=8 September 2023|title=Fleetwood Mac Unveil Rumours Live from 1977 |url=https://consequence.net/2023/09/fleetwood-mac-rumours-live-stream/ |access-date=4 June 2024|language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite AV media notes |title=The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac |title-link=The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac |others=Fleetwood Mac |year=2002 |first=David |last=Wild|page=12|type=Liner Notes |publisher=Warner Bros. Records Inc. |location=Los Angeles}} A live recording from Buckingham's performance at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas from January 2007 appeared on Buckingham's Live at the Bass Performance Hall live album/DVD in 2008.{{Cite news |last=Marton |first=Andrew |date=16 April 2008 |title=Buckingham's in fine form on solo concert DVD |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-buckinghams-in-fine-for/170587697/ |access-date=18 April 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |pages=7B |via=Newspapers.com}} Buckingham also included the song on his solo live albums Songs from the Small Machine: Live in L.A. and One Man Show.

"I'm So Afraid" has generally received positive reviews from music critics. In his review of the band's 1975 self-titled album, Bud Scopa of Rolling Stone thought that the song stood out upon repeated listens.{{Cite magazine |last=Scopa |first=Bud |date=25 September 1975 |title=Fleetwood Mac |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/fleetwood-mac-98110/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223215853/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/fleetwood-mac-98110/ |archive-date=23 December 2023 |access-date=5 October 2024 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} In 2022, the same publication ranked the "I'm So Afraid" 34th on its list of the top 50 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs, labeling it a "paranoid blues blowout". The Rolling Stone Album Guide called the song a "soulful closer".{{cite book|first1= Mark |last1= Coleman |first2= Mark |last2= Kemp |author-link2= Mark Kemp |editor1-first= Nathan |editor1-last= Brackett |editor1-link= Nathan Brackett |editor2-first= Christian |editor2-last= Hoard |editor2-link= Christian Hoard |year= 2004 |title= The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link= The Rolling Stone Album Guide |chapter= Fleetwood Mac |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA303 |publisher= Simon & Schuster |edition= 4th |isbn= 0-7432-0169-8 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/303 303–304]}} Simon Reynolds of Spin was complimentary of Buckingham's vocal delivery on the song and compared its bassline to the work of Joy Division.{{Cite magazine |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=March 1993 |title=Blue Light Special |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ADSCfip83cC&pg=PA76 |access-date=18 April 2025 |magazine=Spin |via=Google Books}}

• US vinyl, 7", Single (Reprise Records - RPS 1339)

1. "Over My Head" – 3:17
2. "I'm So Afraid" – 4:15

• Lindsey Buckingham – lead vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitar
• Christine McVie – keyboards
• Stevie Nicks – backing vocals
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums

{{reflist}}

{{Fleetwood Mac}}

Category:Fleetwood Mac songs

Category:1976 singles

Category:Songs written by Lindsey Buckingham

Category:Song recordings produced by Keith Olsen

Category:Reprise Records singles