
Model: Jenn King. MUA: Danelle French. Hair: Anthony Perez. Styling: Nativa
“You know what, Courtney? I don’t really know what “Gold Dust Woman” is about. I know there was cocaine there and that I fancied it gold dust, somehow. I’m going to have to go back to my journals and see if I can pull something out about “Gold Dust Woman”. Because I don’t really know. It’s weird that I’m not quite sure. It can’t be all about cocaine.” (Stevie Nicks interview with Courtney Love for Spin in October 1997)
Gold Dust Woman is one of those songs that gets stuck in the back of your mind and you’ll suddenly find yourself humming it in the middle of the afternoon without realizing or even knowing for sure how it got there. Fleetwood Mac released the song as B-side filler and, as so often happens, it took hold and ended up selling decently on its own. While never getting higher than number 30 on the Billboard charts, it was enough to cement its place in the minds of an entire generation that, go ahead and admit it folks, at the very least dabbled in recreational drugs. Not everyone developed a dependency issue, but we have this song as one of the side effects that won’t go away and we’re okay with that. It’s a cool song.
This is the one time this week where the photo was actually taken to go with the song. Danelle French developed the concept for a Girls Of Rock series but because of schedules and weather this was the only song we did for the concept. We did three editorial looks on the theme, one of which I used as a Photo Of The Day earlier this year, and the team did well enough composing the looks that it is impossible to decide which one best fits. This particular image, though, is my favorite of the set. The dress has an inherent sense of motion and Jenn’s pouty look, like the song, could be love, could be the coffee, or maybe is just damn good posing. The photo fits the music and, like the song, stays stuck in the back of my head, resurfacing at the oddest times.
Did she make you cry
Make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
Is it over now — do you know how
Pickup the pieces and go home.
It is that last part of the song, the line about picking up the pieces and going home, that may resonate the most because we’ve all been there in some fashion. Not everything turns out the way we want or the way we expect. Illusions are shattered. We pick up the pieces, retreat to a place of safety, and try again another day. Even when one is high that line is still good advice.
Gold Dust Woman – 2004 Remastered Edition
Gold Dust Woman – 2004 Remastered Edition, a song by Fleetwood Mac on Spotify