For the first time on her “Eras Tour,” Taylor Swift played hit “Clara Bow” with a special inspiration in the audience. Before playing track No. 16 on her latest “The Tortured Poets Department” album for Dublin, Ireland on June 30, Swift took a moment to recognize her “friend” Stevie Nicks, whose namesake serves as a lyric in the song.
“A friend of mine is here watching the show, who has really been one of the reasons why I, or any female artist, get to do what we get to do,” Swift said, per fan footage shared on social media, of the Fleetwood Mac singer. Swift then praised Nicks for being a mentor and “guiding hand” to female artists over the years, adding, “I can’t tell you how rare that is.” “She’s a hero of mine and also someone that I could tell her any secret and she’d never tell anybody.
She’s really helped me through so much over the years,” Swift said. “I’m talking about Stevie Nicks.” After applauding for Nicks herself, along with the massive crowd, Swift strummed “Clara Bow” for the first time live on acoustic guitar.
The song, as she’s said, centers around how the entertainment industry building up and breaking down its “it girls” like Clara Bow, Nicks and, now, Swift. At one part of the song, Swift seems to quote someone telling her she resembled the iconic Nicks back in the singer’s heyday during the 1970s and ‘80s. “‘You look like Stevie Nicks/ In ‘75, the hair and lips/ Crowd goes wild at her fin.