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Now here you go again, you say
You want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down
It's only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness
Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost, and what you had, and what you lost
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know, you'll know
Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions
I keep my visions to myself, it's only me
Who wants to wrap around your dreams and,
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Dreams of loneliness,
Like a heartbeat, drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering, what you had,
And what you lost and what you had and what you lost
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say, women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say, women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know
You'll know, you will know, you'll know
You want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down
It's only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness
Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost, and what you had, and what you lost
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know, you'll know
Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions
I keep my visions to myself, it's only me
Who wants to wrap around your dreams and,
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Dreams of loneliness,
Like a heartbeat, drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering, what you had,
And what you lost and what you had and what you lost
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say, women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say, women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know
You'll know, you will know, you'll know
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So, we know the facts, that during the recording of Rumors, Stevie and Lindsey broke up, and Stevie took up with Mick Fleetwood. I'm pretty sure that the reference to "Shacking up, that's all you wanna do" from Go Your Own Way, was Lindsey's reaction to Stevie sharing a bed with Fleetwood. So why did they really break up? This is open to everyone's interpretation, but here's my take:
Stevie and Lindsey were soul mates from the get go. They met at San Jose State where Stevie was a year ahead of Lindsey. They were inseparable, wrote, sang, recorded, and performed together for 6 years. During that time, they were not very famous, and Lindsey did not have hordes of groupies following him around. The relationship was solid. When they joined Fleetwood Mac and completely reinvigorated FM's music, they became instantly famous. Now, the groupies were all over Lindsey. He was still in his 20s, and by far the best-looking guy in the group, and like all rock stars, he probably took advantage of the situation. Stevie could only look the other way so many times, before she had to put her foot down. Lindsey probably agreed to stop, but also probably fell off the wagon a few times. After a while, Stevie just said to him, "you could have had me for the rest of your life, but you betrayed me time after time. Now I'm going to have some fun, and you'll miss what you once had." She turned that into the song, "Dreams". Meanwhile, Lindsey has been telling her that these one-night stands with groupies don't mean anything, that he doesn't love them, he only loves her. Stevie is down on men at this point and doesn't believe him. So, like millions of men before him, Lindsey is resentful that she is now sleeping around and writes "Go Your Own Way" which is his bitter feeling about the sequence if events, It's a very familiar story, everyone knows someone who has gone through it, it's just that this one was played out in front of the whole rock world. Sad, because I think they really were made for each other. But Lindsey couldn't resist the opportunities, and I can't blame him. There's not a young rock star in the universe who wouldn't take advantage of that situation. I just think Stevie could have been a little more subtle about her affairs, this was like sleeping with your ex's best friend and rubbing it in his face. If she had had a few casual affairs with lower-profile men, they could have weathered that storm and gotten back together at some point when they had both grown tired of it. But Lindsey couldn't take that direct hit, and no amount of "Dreams" by Stevie was going to soothe his wounds. It didn't have to end that way.
And wanting to go back to that time, even though the relationship didn't work out. Because they both cared about each other, but couldn't go on together.
Just my two cents.
She's living in her fantasy, which is why it's called "Dreams." She wants to be a part of his future, his hopes, but it will never happen because he won't let it. The whole relationship, the whole idea that it could ever work out, is all but a dream, a fantasy in her mind. Fantasies rarely pan out...and even if he's lonely, it doesn't mean he's going to want to be with her. In the end, there is redemption even though he broke her heart and will never mend it. She still forgives him and loves him. She's aware that even if he realizes it was a mistake, it doesn't mean he'll want her back.
The dreams of a man who aspires to be loved by many.
And the dreams/visions/predictions of a woman who wants to be the only lover in his life.
Now here he goes again... This conversation has happened many times before and will probably happen many times again. He wants his freedom.
She reluctantly agrees. "Who am I to keep you down?"
"It's only right that you should play the way you feel it." He should be true to his own feelings and not pretend to love her alone, or hide his love for or desire to be loved by anyone else.
But she warns him that he should "listen carefully to the sound" of his loneliness. He's going to regret leaving her, remembering what he lost.
"Thunder" is the sound the heartbeat makes when it is lonely, and it can be maddeningly loud. And thunder only happens when it's "raining" -- during the troubling times. If you aren't careful you won't realize its raining until you hear the thunder, and then its too late.
Players, or careless lovers, will not stick around during the troubling times and will leave at the first sign of difficulty -- they only love you when they're playing.
He won't realize the trouble he's caused himself until he's experienced the troubling times for himself -- "When the rain washes you clean, you'll know."
Now here she goes again... She's had these visions before and she'll probably have them again. She can see the trouble coming, but she decides to keep her mouth shut. ("I keep my visions to myself.") He's going to have to figure this out on his own by experiencing it.
She is the only one he can turn to when the loneliness sets in. She's the only one who understands his dreams and is willing to be there for him during the difficult times -- "It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams".
But when he does come back to her he's going to have a rude discovery. She'll take him back, but he's going to pay the price. He's going to have to exchange his shattered dreams for her affection -- "Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?"
She's saying that after he goes and lives his life of freedom, at the end of the day he'll just be lonely and reminiscing on the relationship they once had. The singer is hoping that he'll truly realize what he's lost.
She also says that she wanted to "wrap herself around his dreams" which basically means that she was going to be there for him in the long run when his days of partying or doing whatever it is he wants to do is over. When he's all done having his fun and living out his life he'll realize that he's all alone.
You can also relate this song to their other songs, "Go your own way", "Never going back again". It's like a story if you put it all together.