Song a Day Keeps the Sadness at Bay: Sometimes It’s A Bitch by Stevie Nicks

The people who love us tend to linger

Another song from my childhood, but one I really didn’t appreciate until it was too late.

I used to call this song the “Castles of Candy” song when I was little. I would ask my mother to play it and we would sing and dance.

Now, it always reminds me of my mother and all the things she had to go through as an adult, and the same things that I’m facing as I get older. It’s a gentle reminder from my mother, I think, whenever it comes on unplanned.

Before she passed, we were reforming our relationship after decades of difficulty, a reliance on drugs and my parents never seeing eye to eye. I was still in my “nervous girl” phase, where new things scared the crap out of me and I knew better than to upset my father or rock the boat. She told me during a conversation that she would be around to help me find my confidence.

Unfortunately, she passed when I was 21, but after over a decade, a lot of life changes and “all desperate hours that no one could see”, I’m getting better. I’ve found a little more confidence, especially in writing, I’ve followed my dreams and gone to school for something I enjoy, I’m writing on the internet and hoping to make some kind of dent.

“Sometimes It’s A Bitch” came out the year I was born. I was about 4 months old, but it’s Stevie Nicks, and her music is evergreen. It’s a lesser known song, at least from what I’ve seen and heard of it, but it’s still special to me.

It’s not only a reminder to be confident and go for what I want, but also a reminder that it’s ok to have some moments that are fantastic and some that suck. Not everything is always in the middle.

In 2024, I “cried a river of tears from the pain”.

In 2025, I’m standing tall “my arms stretched triumphant on top of the mountain”

The song is peak cheesy late 80’s/early 90’s vibes (also written by Jon Bon Jovi!), but it’s always a joy.