This song was a huge hit, a real monster. It climbed all the way to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it also reached number 11 here in Canada. Even today, it’s still played regularly on the radio.
So where did the title come from? Edge of Seventeen originally came from a conversation Stevie Nicks had when she met Tom Petty’s wife. Jane Petty had a very thick Southern accent. Stevie asked her what age she and Tom met, and she replied “age of seventeen.” With that accent, it sounded like “edge of seventeen,” and that’s where the title came from.
The song changed meaning after a very difficult time in Stevie Nicks’ life. In December of 1980, both John Lennon and her uncle Jonathan died in the same week. Those deaths deeply affected her and inspired her to rewrite the song. Originally, it was supposed to be about Tom Petty and his wife, but she decided she needed to write it about something else.
According to Stevie Nicks, the song became about violent death. There was a lot of death surrounding her at the time — her uncle passed away from cancer, and John Lennon was murdered by a gunshot. She wanted the song to feel very tragic and dramatic, reflecting what she was going through emotionally.
One of the most common misconceptions about the song involves the chorus. Many people mishear the line “just like the white wing dove.” A lot of listeners think she’s saying “one wing dove,” but that isn’t correct. It’s white wing dove.
Interestingly enough, Stevie Nicks had never actually heard a dove cry when she wrote the song. In a 2020 interview, she said she had only recently heard one for the first time. Still, she managed to capture the sound perfectly in the song when she sings about the white wing dove sounding like it’s singing “ooh, ooh, ooh.”
A true timeless classic! Enjoy!
