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    Song Title »
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You
    Authors »
Stevie Nicks, Keith Olsen

    Year Written »
1985

    Lyrics »

Has anyone ever written anything for you
In all your darkest hours
Have you ever heard me sing
Listen to me now
You know I'd rather be alone
Than be without you
Don't you know

Has anyone ever given anything to you
In your darkest hours
Did you ever give it back
Well, I have
I have given that to you
If it's all I ever do
This is your song

And the rain comes down
There's no pain and there's no doubt
It was easy to say
I believed in you everyday
If not for me
Then do it for the world

Has anyone ever written anything for you
In your darkest sorrow
Did you ever hear me sing
Listen to me now
You know I'd rather be alone
Than be without you
Don't you know

So, if not for me, then
Do it for yourself
If not for me then
Do it for the world
Poet...priest of nothing
Poet...priest of nothing

    Fan Interpretation »

In the liner note for Timespace, Stevie Nicks deeply explains an experience that inspired her to write "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You". That experience told Stevie that no matter who bad things are for you, they are worse for someone else. To Stevie, her problems and pain were nothing compared to the pain Joe Walsh was going through:

"....and I wrote a song for him... 'this is your song'....I said...to the people...but it was Joe's song. Thank you, Joe, for the most committed song I ever wrote." -- Timespace liner notes

This song is for Joe Walsh, and for the pain the loss of his daughter was causing him, but it is also for everyone who hears it and needs something to assure them that they are special.

Has anyone ever written anything for you
In all your darkest hours
Have you ever heard me sing
Listen to me now
You know I'd rather be alone
Then be without you
Don't you know

Stevie is asking Joe, and all her fans, if we have ever felt so special that a song would be written just for us. Did we turn to Stevie in times of pain or sorrow? Did Joe release his hidden pain through Stevie's music, or music alone? Stevie felt so close to Joe, and so in love with him, that she would rather have no one than be without Joe. In reference to us, Stevie's fans, Stevie would be nowhere out, and both we and Stevie know that.

Has anyone ever given anything to you
In your darkest hours
Did you ever give it back
Well, I have
I have given that to you
If it's all I ever do
This is your song

Stevie is asking Joe Walsh, and also her fans, it anyone ever gave them a part of themselves and how we reacted to it. Did we accept their gift through our pain or did we throw it back, because we wanted to hide our pain and be miserable? Stevie has given Joe a part of herself through this song. And through this song, she has also given her fans a part of herself. It's Joe's song, Joe's daughter's song and anyone who cares enough to listen's song.

And the rain comes down
There's no pain and there's no doubt
It was easy to say
I believed in you everyday
If not for me, then
Do it for the world

Rain had become Stevie's symbol of pain, whether in "Dreams", "Outside The Rain" or any other song. But this time, the rain is not pain. There is no doubt Stevie believed in Joe and in us. She wants us to stand up to our pain and carry on, go on with our lives, because we have people who need us.

So, if not for me, then
Do it for yourself
If not for me, then
Do it for the world
Poet, priest of nothing, legend

Stevie wants Joe, and us, to go on. Not just for her, but because WE need to do it and the people we love need us to do it. We are all poets, and poets are priests of nothing, and legends. We are all legends in our own special ways. Everyone, Stevie Nicks, Joe Walsh, all of Stevie's fans, everyone in the world.

Yes, this song was inspired and written for Joe Walsh. But it is clear that this song has come to be for anyone who has ever been down and out and needed someone to turn to. Joe Walsh had dedicated that water fountain to his daughter. "...to HER and all the other who were to small to get a drink". "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You" was Stevie's Nicks' dedication to wall who ever needed someone, something special.

(The interpretations to these lyrics were compiled through discussions on the message boards of the Penguin, The Ledge. It is entirely possible that the artists had something completely different in mind.)

    Tabs »
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    Performances »
Performance #1:
Running Time 4:35
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Piano), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Synthesizers), Mike/Michael Landau (Guitar), David Kemper (Percussion), Lori Perry-Nicks/Perry/Nicks (Background Vocals), Carol(yn) Brooks (Background Vocals), Jamie Sheriff (EMU Programmer), John Kovarek (Engineer), John Kovarek (Mixed By), Rick/Richard Nowels (Produced By)
CommentsRecorded at Westlake Studios. Mixed at Record Plant/LA. Chart: Billboard US Hot 100 Singles Peak Position: 60 Peak Dates: May 31, 1986 & Jun 6, 1986 Weeks On Charts: 6
Appears On
Enchanted (1998)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #2:
Running Time 4:37
Performers Chris Lord-Alge (Remixed By), Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Piano), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Synthesizer), Mike/Michael Landau (Guitar), David Kemper (Percussion), Lori Perry-Nicks/Perry/Nicks (Background Vocals), Carol(yn) Brooks (Background Vocals), Jamie Sheriff (EMU Programmer), Rick/Richard Nowels (Produced By), John Kovarek (Engineered By)
Comments(Remix) Keith Olsen is not listed as co-songwriter in the Timespace notes
Appears On
Timespace: The Best Of Stevie Nicks (1991)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #3:
Running Time 4:35
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Piano), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Synthesizers), Mike/Michael Landau (Guitar), David Kemper (Percussion), Lori Perry-Nicks/Perry/Nicks (Background Vocals), Carol(yn) Brooks (Background Vocals), Jamie Sheriff (EMU Programmer), John Kovarek (Engineer), John Kovarek (Mixed By), Rick/Richard Nowels (Produced By)
CommentsRecorded at Westlake Studios. Mixed at Record Plant/LA. Chart: Billboard US Hot 100 Singles Peak Position: 60 Peak Dates: May 31, 1986 & Jun 6, 1986 Weeks On Charts: 6
Appears On
Rock A Little (1985)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #4:
Date Performance 1991-11-14
Running Time 3:31
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals)
CommentsRecorded live in Los Angeles on the Timespace tour.
Appears On
Live In Los Angeles (Pretty Mac Goes Metal) (1991)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #5:
Performers Christine McVie (Keyboards), Stevie Nicks (Vocals)
CommentsRecorded live at The Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA 12/12/87 & 12/13/87
Appears On
Superstar Concert Series (0000)
Fleetwood Mac
Performance #6:
Running Time 4:35
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Piano), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Synthesizers), Mike/Michael Landau (Guitar), David Kemper (Percussion), Lori Perry-Nicks/Perry/Nicks (Background Vocals), Carol(yn) Brooks (Background Vocals), Jamie Sheriff (EMU Programmer), John Kovarek (Engineer), John Kovarek (Mixed By), Rick/Richard Nowels (Produced By)
CommentsRecorded at Westlake Studios. Mixed at Record Plant/LA. Chart: Billboard US Hot 100 Singles Peak Position: 60 Peak Dates: May 31, 1986 & Jun 6, 1986 Weeks On Charts: 6
Appears On
Off The Record (0000)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #7:
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals)
CommentsRecorded live in Houston during the Other Side Of The Mirror Tour.
Appears On
Live In Houston (0000)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #8:
Running Time 4:35
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Piano), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Synthesizers), Mike/Michael Landau (Guitar), David Kemper (Percussion), Lori Perry-Nicks/Perry/Nicks (Background Vocals), Carol(yn) Brooks (Background Vocals), Jamie Sheriff (EMU Programmer), John Kovarek (Engineer), John Kovarek (Mixed By), Rick/Richard Nowels (Produced By)
CommentsRecorded at Westlake Studios. Mixed at Record Plant/LA. Chart: Billboard US Hot 100 Singles Peak Position: 60 Peak Dates: May 31, 1986 & Jun 6, 1986 Weeks On Charts: 6
Appears On
Off The Record (0000)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #9:
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals)
CommentsRecorded live in Houston during the Other Side Of The Mirror Tour.
Appears On
Superstar Concert Series (0000)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #10:
Date Performance 1986-08-20
Running Time 4:59
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Jai (Jay) Winding (Keyboards), Bobby/Robert A. Martin (Horns), Bobby/Robert A. Martin (Vocals), Jennifer Condos (Bass), Elis(e)cia Wright (Background Vocals), Shelly Yakus (Produced By), Bobby/Robert A. Martin (Keyboards)
Appears On
Live At Red Rocks (0000)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #11:
Running Time 4:35
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Piano), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Synthesizers), Mike/Michael Landau (Guitar), David Kemper (Percussion), Lori Perry-Nicks/Perry/Nicks (Background Vocals), Carol(yn) Brooks (Background Vocals), Jamie Sheriff (EMU Programmer), John Kovarek (Engineer), John Kovarek (Mixed By), Rick/Richard Nowels (Produced By)
CommentsRecorded at Westlake Studios. Mixed at Record Plant/LA. Chart: Billboard US Hot 100 Singles Peak Position: 60 Peak Dates: May 31, 1986 & Jun 6, 1986 Weeks On Charts: 6
Appears On
Stevie Nicks: Rock A Little (0000)
Warner Brothers Publications Inc.
The Best Of Stevie Nicks: Timespace (0000)
Warner Brothers Publications Inc.
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You/Imperial Hotel (0000)
Stevie Nicks
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You/I Can't Wait (0000)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #12:
Date Performance 1986-08-20
Running Time 4:59
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Jai (Jay) Winding (Keyboards), Bobby/Robert A. Martin (Horns), Bobby/Robert A. Martin (Vocals), Jennifer Condos (Bass), Elis(e)cia Wright (Background Vocals), Shelly Yakus (Produced By), Bobby/Robert A. Martin (Keyboards)
Appears On
Rooms On Fire/Alice/Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You (0000)
Stevie Nicks
Performance #13:
Running Time 4:35
Performers Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Piano), Charlie/Charles (Arthur) Judge (Doctor) (Synthesizers), Mike/Michael Landau (Guitar), David Kemper (Percussion), Lori Perry-Nicks/Perry/Nicks (Background Vocals), Carol(yn) Brooks (Background Vocals), Jamie Sheriff (EMU Programmer), John Kovarek (Engineer), John Kovarek (Mixed By), Rick/Richard Nowels (Produced By)
CommentsRecorded at Westlake Studios. Mixed at Record Plant/LA. Chart: Billboard US Hot 100 Singles Peak Position: 60 Peak Dates: May 31, 1986 & Jun 6, 1986 Weeks On Charts: 6
Appears On
Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind/Inspiration/Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You (0000)
Stevie Nicks

    Comments »

(C) 1985 Welsh Witch Music - (BMI) admin. by Sony Songs, Inc./Pogologo Music, ASCAP/Warner Chappell Music Ltd./The Company Of The 2 P(I)ETERS. All Rights Reserved. Stevie Nicks: "Written for Joe Walsh. Inspired by Joe Walsh. I guess in a very few rare cases...some people find someone that they fall in love with the very first time they see them...from across the room, from a million miles away. Some people call it love at first sight, and of course, I never believed in that until...that night...I walked into a party after a gig at the hotel, and from across the room, without my glases, I saw this man...and I walked straight to him...He held out his hands to me, and I walked straight into them. I remember thinking, I can never be far from this person again...he is my soul. He seemed to be in a lot of pain, though hid it well. But finally, a few days later, (we were in Denver), he rented a jeep and drove me up into the snow covered hills of Colorado...for about two hours...He wouldn't tell me where we were going...but he did tell me a story of a little daughter that he had lost. To Joe, she was much more than a child...she was three and a half...and she could relate to him...I guess I had been complaining about alot of things going on on the road, and he decided to make me aware of how unimportant my problems were, if they were compared to worse sorrows. So he told me that he had taken this little girl to this magic park whenever he could, and the only thing she EVER complained about was that she was too little to reach up to the drinking fountain. As we drove up to this beautiful park, (it was snowing a little bit), he came around to open my door and help me down, and when I looked up, I saw the park...his baby's park, and I burst into tears saying, 'You built a drinking fountain here for her...didn't you?' I was right, under a huge beautiful hanging tree, was a tiny, silver drinking fountain...I left Joe to get to it, and on it, it said, dedicated to HER and all the others who were too small to get a drink. So he wrote a song for her, and I wrote a song for him...'This is your song...' I said...to the people...but it was Joe's song. Thank you, Joe, for the most committed song I ever wrote...But more than that, thank you for inspiring me in so many ways. Nothing in my life ever seems as dark anymore, since we took that drive. 'If not for me then, do it for the world...If not for me then, do it for yourself...' I want you to remember...me...'Poet...Priest of nothing...LEGEND...'

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    Last Modified »
2010-09-24

    Discography Credits »
Interpretation prepared by Joanne, Becky, Eliza, and Scott B.