The Chain

According to interviews on the writing of Rumours, the final section of "The Chain"—beginning with a bass progression—was created by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Stevie Nicks had written the lyrics separately and thought they would be a good match; she and Christine McVie did some reworking to create the first section of the tune. Other elements were worked in from an early project of Christine's called "Keep Me There", which removed the blues-style motif, but retained the chord progression.[4] To complete the song, Buckingham recycled the intro from an earlier song from a duet with Nicks, "Lola (My Love)", originally released on their self-titled 1973 album.[7]

Due to the spliced nature of the record (the drums and guitar were the only instruments recorded in each other's company)[8] and its sporadic composition and assembly from different rejected songs, "The Chain" is one of only a few Fleetwood Mac songs whose authorship is credited to all members of the band at the time.[4] The finished song itself has a basic rock structure, although it has two distinct portions: the main verse and chorus, and the outro. Influences of hard rock, folk, and country are also present. The Dobro, a type of resonator guitar, supplies the verse riff.[4][9] The song is in E minor, which is the relative minor key for G.[10] The vocal range is G3 to C♯5.

Rumours garnered widespread critical acclaim upon its release. Subsequent analysis of "The Chain" has also led many to cite it as one of the most evocative expressions of the internal fracture among various band members at the time. Buckingham and Nicks were ending their relationship at the same time that John and Christine McVie's marriage broke down, as did that of Fleetwood and his wife, Jenny Boyd.[4]

In 1997, Fleetwood Mac released a live concert CD/DVD package called The Dance, which featured the reunion of the Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac members. The rendition of "The Chain" reached number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The studio version began appearing on the charts in 2009, where it debuted at number 94 in the UK. Two years later, it peaked at number 81.[11] By 2020, the song had been certified 2x Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry based on download sales alone.

• Lindsey Buckingham – electric guitars, Dobro, lead vocals
• Stevie Nicks – lead and harmony vocals • tambourine (just in live versions)
• Christine McVie – Harmonium, Hammond organ, harmony vocals
• John McVie – fretless bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, tambourine

The BBC's Formula One coverage used the ending bass line as a theme tune from 1978 until 1996 and again from 2009 to 2015, thus making the song highly recognisable in the United Kingdom.[23] On 29 March 2009 the song re-entered the UK Chart at number 94 through downloads, following confirmation from the BBC that it would be reintroduced, the BBC having regained broadcasting rights from ITV. On 20 March 2011, "The Chain" peaked higher at number 81 in the UK chart following a campaign on Facebook to try to get the song to number 1 for the start of the 2011 Formula One season.[5]

"The Chain" appeared on 25 Years - The Chain and The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac.

The song was recorded by the American rock band Tantric, released as the second single from their 2004 second album, After We Go. Though being released as a single the song lacked much promotion, debuting at number 36 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.

Tantric's cover of the song was used as the theme song for the HBO Documentary series Family Bonds.[24]

American rock band Evanescence released a cover version of the song. It was released as a digital download on November 22, 2019 by BMG.[25]

• Caillat, Ken (2012). Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1118218082.

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• Listen to "The Chain" on YouTube