Sentimental Lady

The original 1972 version of the song as heard on Fleetwood Mac's Bare Trees album clocked in at 4 minutes 34 seconds, with background vocals by Christine McVie. It had two verses, with a reprise of the first following the instrumental bridge.

A 1977 re-recording, the most well-known version of the song, was a solo hit for Welch when he recorded it for his first solo album, French Kiss, which was released in September 1977. The first single released from the album, "Sentimental Lady" reached the top 10 in both the U.S. Pop and Adult Contemporary charts.

Mick Fleetwood also played the drums for the song on Welch's 1977 album. The re-recording of it featured Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham as backing singers and producers (with Buckingham additionally doing the arrangement as well as serving on guitar), but unlike the original which had two verses, Welch's solo version only had one verse to cut it down to less than three minutes for the final radio cut. The solo recording also has multilayered guitars played by Lindsey Buckingham, who recorded the guitars at half speed. He then sped up the recording so that the guitars would sonically resemble a harpsichord/music box.{{Cite book |last1=Caillat |first1=Ken |title=Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac's Most Anticipated Album |last2=Rojas |first2=Hernan |publisher=Backbeat Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4930-5983-6 |location=Guilford, Connecticut |page=183}} The solo version also contains counterpoint vocals arranged and sung by Christine McVie.{{cite web|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa4.htm|title=Bob Welch Q&A Session, November 1999|website=The Penguin|access-date=10 November 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031001312/http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa4.htm|archive-date=31 October 2016|url-status=dead}}

The original placeholder/dummy lyrics for the chorus before the full lyrics were written was, "my legs are sticks and my feet are stones." Welch told Songfacts.com: "The lyric was probably referencing my first wife Nancy."{{cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bob-welch/sentimental-lady|title=Sentimental Lady by Bob Welch Songfacts |website=Songfacts.com |access-date=10 November 2024}}

The Fleetwood Mac version includes a verse that begins "Now you are here today, But easily you might just go away."{{cite web|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/lyrics/s/sentimentallady.htm|title=Sentimental Lady. Written by Bob Welch. |publisher=The Penguin Lyrics Archive|access-date=September 17, 2009}} It is omitted from Welch's solo version, which otherwise has the same lyrics. Welch recalled that his record company wanted the single to be under three minutes to be commercially viable, so Welch cut the second verse to fulfill that requirement.

Donald Brackett, in his 2007 book, Fleetwood Mac, 40 Years of Creative Chaos has discussed Welch's poetic romantic lyrics in "Sentimental Lady" and writing and performing style. He describes the featuring of the song on the 1972 album Bare Trees as the best example of the group's move towards a new, softer and highly commercial style in the early 1970s. Brackett suggests that the essence of the lyrics and nature of the song are "almost too gentle", but describes Welch's voice as like "crushed velvet", in that he believes the voice is simultaneously gentle and threatening in tone, a symbolic balance between the emotions of hope and despair.{{cite book|author=Brackett, Donald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=loCGso06VjsC&q=Sentimental+Lady+welch&pg=PA90|title=Fleetwood Mac: 40 Years of Creative Chaos|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year= 2007|page=90|isbn=9780275993382}} He later says of Welch's song writing, "Welch had the unique ability to encapsulate in a single song the travails of personal intimacy as well as the larger social picture in which we all lived".

Cash Box described it as being "a startling approach to balladry" with "smooth harmonies abound."{{cite news|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=10 June 1972|page=16|accessdate=11 December 2021|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1972/Cash-Box-1972-06-10.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}} Record World called it "a gentle, floating ballad" with "nice lyrics."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=10 June 1972|accessdate=31 March 2023|title=Single Picks|page=12|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/72/Record-World-1972-06-10.pdf}} Tony Stewart wrote in New Musical Express that the song's "intricate guitar work builds up into a wonderful piece of music."{{Cite magazine |last=Stewart |first=Tony |date=24 June 1972 |title=Fleetwood Mac: Bare Trees (Reprise) |magazine=New Musical Express |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/fleetwood-mac-ibare-treesi-reprise |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 March 2025|via=Rock's Backpages}} The Guardian commented that the "ultra-hooky" song "should have been a pop hit the first time around."{{Cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |date=25 July 2024|title=Hard rock, ambient weirdness and UFOs: exploring the greatness of early 70s Fleetwood Mac |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jul/25/early-70s-fleetwood-mac |access-date=2 October 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

• Bob Welch – lead vocals, guitar
• Danny Kirwan – guitar
• Christine McVie – keyboards, backing vocals
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums

• Bob Welch – lead vocals, bass guitar
• Lindsey Buckingham – guitar, backing vocals
• Christine McVie – keyboards, backing vocals
• Mick Fleetwood – drums

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Category:Fleetwood Mac songs

Category:1972 songs

Category:1977 singles

Category:Songs written by Bob Welch (musician)

Category:Reprise Records singles

Category:Capitol Records singles