Fleetwood Mac - The Chain - Lyrics Meaning

This song was released on Fleetwood Mac's critically acclaimed 1977 album, Rumours. The lyrics to this song are simple and repetitive, which is designed to convey the frustration and unwillingness to let go of the anger that the singer feels for the man that jilted her. The "chain" is the marriage or relationship that they had before her partner decided to be unfaithful. The line "Run in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies" indicates that the infidelity is known and bitterly accepted. She watches the sun rise, meaning that she has been awake possibly all night waiting for her partner to return. The same idea is expressed when she sings "down comes the night". Here she hates the night time hours because that is when he will leave her to continue the infidelity.

The song comes to a head when she finally confronts the man by breaking her silence and accusing him of cheating on her. The woman tells the man, "I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain" repeatedly throughout the song and brings him to task for the vows and promises made when they got together. Ultimately she tells the man that if he does not give her all of his love and commitment right now, he will lose her forever.