“You Can’t Fix This” is a 2013 song by Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, and Rami Jaffee. The song was recorded in Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 and recorded for the soundtrack album Sound City: Real to Reel. The Sound City players performed the song several times at festivals and on The Late Show with David Letterman.
The song was written about Stevie Nicks’ godson Glen B. Parrish, Jr. who overdosed at a party at the age of 18.
Stevie Nicks, Parrish’s godmother, spoke of the tragedy at a January 2013 performance at the Hollywood Palladium. “[He] overdosed at a fraternity party a year and two months ago,” Nicks said as she nervously fiddled with her gloves. “It was a very difficult situation. He had just turned eighteen. We’re all still trying to deal with it now.”
She said she brought her poem to Dave Grohl, who had asked Nicks to contribute a song to ‘Sound City: Real to Reel’. “I said, ‘Do you want to go there with me, Dave?’” Nicks recalled to the crowd. “Because it’s heavy. And Dave said, ‘I’m going there with you, babe.’ So, in our day, we made a pact not to dance with the devil. We did a lot of other things, but we never danced with the devil. Unfortunately, this little boy danced with the devil, and this is his story.”
Lyrics
We don’t talk much about it
It goes back so many years
All the times we almost didn’t make it
We stayed clear
Dancing with the devil
Call it respect, call it fear
But we never allowed the devil
To come to the party
We were careful in our own way
We walk through the darkness
We made a pact not to dance with the devil
Even when the devil seemed to have a heart
He said we’d never be sorry
For what we’d done
And we never allowed the devil
To come to the party
You can’t fix this, you lost a friend
Hearts breaking, right and left
Friendships break like glass
And the devil pours another glass
It’s so easy
The devil pours a glass of Champagne
Asks someone new to dance
It’s so easy to ruin people’s lives
He twirls around and starts to laugh
Tear up the invitation
Hear the bells ring on the hour
He twirls around and he laughs
He said we’d never be sorry
For what we’d done
And we never allowed the devil
To come to the party
You can’t fix this, you lost a friend
Hearts breaking, right and left
Friendships break like glass
And the devil pours another glass
No, we never allowed the devil
To come to the party
Yes, we said that we would never be sorry
For what we’d done
Never go to the party
If you think you won’t come home
Never dance with the devil
You can’t fix this, you lost a friend
He will burn you down
Hearts breaking, right and left
Well, never dance with the devil
You can’t fix this, you lost a friend
He will burn you down
Hearts breaking, right and left
Never dance with the devil
You can’t fix this, you lost a friend
He will burn you down
You can’t fix this, you lost a friend
Don’t ever dance with the devil
You can’t fix this, you lost a friend
He will burn you down
You can’t fix this
You can’t fix this
You can’t fix this
You can’t fix this
You can’t fix this.
Credits
Songwriters: Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins
Producer: Butch Vig
