Sentimental Lady

Album: French Kiss (1977)
Charted: 8
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Songfacts®:

  • When we asked Bob Welch about this song, he explained: "The lyric was probably referencing my first wife (at the time) Nancy. The original placeholder/dummy lyrics for the chorus (before I had 'real' lyrics) were, 'my legs are sticks and my feet are stones.' I have the old songwriting cassette I used, and that's what I'm saying ;-).
    The Fleetwood Mac version had 2 verses, the 'hit' solo album version (5 years later), had only 1 verse, in order to get it down to less than 3 minutes, for radio."

    Bob Welch was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971-1974. He died in 2012 at age 65. Songs he wrote for Fleetwood Mac include "Hypnotized" and "The Bermuda Triangle."
  • Bob Welch joined Fleetwood Mac in 1971, and they recorded this song on their 1972 album Bare Trees. It became a hit when Welch recorded it on his first solo album in 1977. Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac sang backup on Welch's solo version.
  • Welch wrote this at the Gorham Hotel on 55th Street in New York City. The hotel no longer exists.
  • In the 2010 Adam Sandler movie Grown Ups, this is fondly remembered as the song the guys would use as a make-out song.
  • Many Fleetwood Mac aficionados cite the band's original version as their first song to explicitly reference the softer, more commercial West Coast sound that they would later make their own.

Comments: 11

  • Bob from ArizonaJohn from LA stated that Bob Welch did not write the song, but rather novelist Baron Birtcher. Can that information be verified?
  • Apo from New JerseyThis 1977 version; Bob with McVie, Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood is the best one ever. Its sort of Fleetwood Mac 3.0
  • Seventhmist from 7th HeavenPerfect song for slow dancing with your loved one.
  • Mark from Colorado Springs, CoLOVE this song...and Bob. Did anyone else get chills at the end of this video...I mean...he shot himself (Though it was with a rifle and in the video he pulls a small toy gun) and just the way he smiled at the end after the "Bang" flag pops out..."Prophetic?"
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn October 9th 1977, "Sentimental Lady" by Bob Welch entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #90; and twelve weeks later on January 1st, 1978 it peaked at #8 {for 2 weeks} and spent 18 weeks on the Top 100...
    Between October 1977 and May 1979, he had, as a solo artist, five Top 100 records; his next biggest hit was "Ebony Eyes", it peaked at #14 {for 2 weeks} on April 2nd, 1978...
    R.I.P. Robert Lawrence Welch {1945 - 2012}.
  • Roann from Apalachin, NyR.I.P. Bob Welch. You will always be Fleetwood Mac.
  • Oldpink from Farmland, InBob Welch took his life yesterday.
    Such a shame.
  • Camille from Toronto, OhThis is one of those songs that reached through all the confusion of being a teenager and simply touched something inside of me, bringing it to life. It transported me out of the life's daily grind and allowed me to dream about love that could do that, too. It spoke to my heart the way only music can do. I didn't know anyone else who listened to this kind of music. It's just a beautifully sung song with lyrics to match.
  • John from L.a., CaBob Welsh is full of it! He did not write this song.

    Novelest Baron Birtcher wrote the song. He sold it when he was very young in exchange for a few hours in a recording studio.
  • Jason from Houston, TxWhat a timeless classic this song is-- one of my favorite songs of the 70s, and maybe of all time... The beginning "You are here and warm..." is chill-inducing, then the chorus-- just spectacular. I first became reacquainted with the song around 2006, when Ask.com used it in one of their commercials-- I recognized it from when I was a little kid in the late 70s, did a little internet searching to find out the title, downloaded it to my iPod and now I listen to it often. It has a similar mood to 10cc's "I'm Not in Love", another favorite of mine.
  • Kristin from Bessemer, AlLOVE that music box intro! YEAHHH!
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