From the recording "Edge of 17"
"Edge of 17" was written by Stevie Nicks in 1981, and at that time Shannon (who portrays Nicks in Rumours) was only 8 years old and just beginning to find out who Stevie Nicks was and how her music was going to change her life.
Stevie Nicks, was writing this song about the death of her Uncle Bill, who was dying of cancer, and the very untimely death of John Lennon.
Shannon would lose her Grandfather Kubic, whom she adored, just 2 years later. Shannon and her grandfather would sing together all the time when he visited and they had a very special bond. After he passed away, Shannon heard this song being played by her older sister one day, and decided to "borrow" the record. She would play this song on repeat because she felt like she could relate so much to the lyrics.
Nicks would go on to say about the songs lyrics, the "white-winged dove" and what this song means to her:
"It became a song about violent death, which was very scary to me because at that point no one in my family had died. To me, the white-winged dove was for John Lennon the 'Dove of Peace', and for my uncle it was the 'White-Winged Dove' who lives in the saguaro cactus - that's how I found out about the white-winged dove, and it does make a sound like 'whooo, whooo, whooo'.
I read that somewhere in Phoenix and thought I would use that in this song. The dove became exciting ,sad, tragic and incredibly dramatic.
Every time I sing this song I have that ability to go back to that two-month period where it all came down. I've never changed it, and I can't imagine ending my show with any other song. It's such a strong, private moment that I share in this song."
~ Stevie Nicks
For Shannon it's very similar, when her grandfather passed, it was the first major death she had experienced, and such a huge loss to her family. No one was around when he passed away in New Mexico, and her family didn't find out until a couple of weeks later.
"That has always haunted me, because he and I were so close, I wish there was something I could of done for him, and changed that for him. He deserved Peace at the end of his life and he didn't get it.
But as an adult looking back, at 10 years old, I know there was nothing I could do living all the way in Ohio.
My grandfather was the leader of all the Boy Scouts in the western U.S, he loved the outdoors, he loved showing people how to survive in nature, he loved playing guitar, singing, his dogs and to this day, I still think of him daily.
I know he is always with me every time I perform, I also know he's proud of me, because he is the one who gave me my true love of music. "
~Shannon Martin-Paul