Handwritten Fleetwood Mac lyrics up for auction

The band's founder Peter Green wrote Man of the World in 1969

Handwritten lyrics and chord charts for one of Fleetwood Mac's earliest hits are set to go up for sale at auction.

The composition sheet for Man of the World, which was a UK chart number two in 1969, was written by the group's co-founder, vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Green.

Green formed Fleetwood Mac with drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie in 1967 but left the group in 1970.

Ewbank's auction house in Woking, Surrey, which is selling the document on Thursday, says it hopes it will reach £15,000.

Man of the World rose to number two in the UK singles charts in June 1969 and stayed in the charts for 14 weeks.

It is considered one of Green's most important compositions, alongside the instrumental hit Albatross and Black Magic Woman, which went on to become a global hit for Santana.

The song sheet, handwritten in blue ballpoint pen and corrected in black ink, shows that Green changed three lines of the lyrics – adding a complete line to the last verse – while confirming his choice for others by annotating the end of each finalised line with a tick.

After Green left the band, Fleetwood Mac did not play the song live until 2019.

Man of the World reached number two in the UK charts in June 1969

A spokesperson for Ewbank's said: "Green himself said that he wrote the song when he was at his saddest.

"The song is particularly significant as band member Mick Fleetwood said it reflected Green's mental state at the time and helped explain why he quit the band and tragically descended into mental illness."

Green died in 2020 aged 73.

"Few musicians can claim to have been as talented and as important to the development of rock music from the blues and folk movements as Peter Green," said John Silke, Ewbank's music specialist.

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