‘Stand Back’ is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her second solo studio album The Wild Heart (1983). The song was released as the lead single from the album in May 1983 and reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Top Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in August of that year. ‘Stand Back’ has been a staple in Nicks' live shows since its pre-album debut at the 1983 US Festival, and it has also been included in the Fleetwood Mac tour set lists since 1987.
Nicks has often told the story of how she wrote ‘Stand Back’. She wrote it on the day of her marriage to Kim Anderson on January 29, 1983. The newlyweds were driving up to San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara when Prince's song ‘Little Red Corvette’ came on the radio. Nicks started humming along to the melody, especially inspired by the lush synthesizers on the song, and ‘Stand Back’ was born. The couple stopped and got a tape recorder and Nicks recorded the demo in the honeymoon suite that night. Later, when Nicks went into the studio to record the song, she called Prince and told him the story of how she wrote the song to his melody. On the night of February 8, 1983, Prince came to the studio and played synthesizers on it, although his contribution is uncredited on the album. He and Nicks did agree however to split the publishing royalties on the song 50-50. Then, she says, "he just got up and left as if the whole thing happened in a dream."
Speaking with Billboard magazine after Prince's death, Nicks said that she is "broken-hearted" that the pair never got to perform the song together while he was alive. "Had I ever in a million years thought that we would lose him, I would have made sure that that would have happened," she said. "And it didn't. So that's just one of those things in your life where you so say, 'I really missed out.' Because he should have. That should have happened." "So, whenever I play 'Stand Back' from this day forward, Prince will be standing next to me," Nicks added. “That is always going to be a joy."
Nicks shot an elaborate concept video for this song with the director Brian Grant, who did many of Queen's early '80s videos. They shot the video, which had a Gone With The Wind/Civil War theme, but Nicks hated the result and shot a simple performance video to replace it. In the book I Want My MTV, she said of the failed video: "It didn't go with the song at all. It was so bad, it was almost good. I tried to act, which was horrific. We used a house in Beverly Hills that we accidentally set on fire. I almost got killed riding a horse."
Label – Modern
Songwriter – Stevie Nicks
Producer – Jimmy Iovine
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]No one looked as I walked by
Just an invitation would have been just fine
Said no to him again and again
First, he took my heart, then he ran
No one knows how I feel
What I say, unless you read between my lines
One man walked away from me
First he took my hand
Take me home
[Chorus]
Stand back, stand back
In the middle of my room, I did not hear from you
It's alright, it's alright
To be standing in a line (Standing in a line)
To be standing in a line
I would cry
[Post-Chorus]
La la la la la la la la la
La la
La la la la la
[Verse 2]
Do not turn away my friend
Like a willow, I can bend
No man calls my name
No man came
So, I walked on down, away from you
Maybe your attention was more than you could do
One man did not call
He asked me for my love, and that was all
[Chorus]
Stand back, stand back
In the middle of my room, I did not hear from you
It's alright, it's alright
To be standing in a line (Standing in a line)
To be standing in a line
I would cry
[Post-Chorus]
La la la la la la la la la
La la
La la la la la la la
Doo-doo, doo-doo
La la la la la la la la la
La la la la
La la la la la, wo-ah
[Breakdown]
So, I walked, walked down the line, away from you
Maybe your attention was more than I could do
One man did not call
Well, he asked me for my love, that was all
[Chorus]
Stand back, stand back
In the middle of my room, I did not hear from you
It's alright, it's alright
To be standing in a line (Standing in a line)
To be standing in a line
I would cry
[Outro]
Well maybe I need a little sympathy
Well, I need a little sympathy (Cry)
Well, I need a little sympathy
A-well, you could be standing in (Stand back)
Well, you could be standing in (Stand back)
Well, you could be standing in (Stand back)
Take me home
Take me home (Stand back)
Won't you take me home?
Well, I need a little sympathy (Stand back)
A-well, you could be standing in (Stand back)
Why don't you take me home?
Why don't you take me home? (Stand back)
Take me home (Alright)
Take me home, me home (Alright)