Cheaper Than Free

Album: In Your Dreams (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Nicks and producer Dave Stewart singing, "What's more important than freedom?/Being needed." She explained the inspiration for the song to Spinner UK: "We went to Village Recorders [in L.A.] to do our basic drum and bass tracks, and Reese Witherspoon came down. Dave was going to be taking a week in Nashville to do some recording, and she said, 'Well, I have a condo there, and if you want to stay there, you can.' I said, 'That would be cheap, Dave.' And Reese said, 'What's cheaper than free?' And Dave Stewart and Stevie Nicks looked at each other and went, 'Oh my God! What a great country song this could be.'"

    Nicks continued: "I thought it was going to be a tongue-in-cheek goofy song, and it ended up to be anything but. We were both very surprised. I believe in my heart that that song will live on forever. I said to everybody, 'We have to really treat this song with kid gloves, because this may be the best song that Dave Stewart and Stevie Nicks ever does.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.

Charlie Daniels

Charlie DanielsSongwriter Interviews

Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Tanita Tikaram

Tanita TikaramSongwriter Interviews

When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.