"Landslide" by Stevie Nicks

One of my favorite songs of all time and one that is certainly not new, was written in 1973 by Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. Many songs I listen to because they are catchy or because I enjoy the melody, while this is true of “Landslide” it is one of the few songs that has really sparked me to think about its meaning, mostly because it is so poetic. Just by listening I think it is easy to tell what the song is about, but I like to have a little back story.


Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were partners long before they ever joined Fleetwood Mac. Like most starting musicians, they were struggling to make it in the music world and Nicks had to work many jobs to try and keep their dream alive. She was also staying in Aspen Colorado at the time which explains some of the metaphors in the song. “Landslide” was written at a time in her life when she was not only reflecting on her life with Lindsey Buckingham and her music career but also on her future as a musician. This song is one that I believe should still be in every young persons playlist because it so beautifully evokes the difficulties that arise while coming of age.

 And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills/ Till the landslide brought me down

For the whole song the snow becomes a mirror and a place where she is able to reflect on who she is as a person and who she wants to be. She thinks that she understands herself until “the landslide brought (her) down”.

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?/ Can the child within my heart rise above?/ Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?/ Can I handle the seasons of my life?

This part is her questioning herself and her abilities. She uses rhetorical questions to bring the reader into her mind and to help us connect with her dilemma. Does she give up her dream of being a musician with Lindsey? Should she do something easier with her life?

Well, I've been afraid of changin/ 'Cause I've built my life around you/ But time makes you bolder/ Even children get older and I'm getting older too

This part is clearly about her more than rocky relationship with Lindsey Buckingham. She at this point is supporting him primarily so that they can make it big. This is a very emotional part of the song because I feel like it is the moment that she says “but time makes you bolder” that she realizes that she has the freedom to do whatever she wants and she shouldn't waste her life.

And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills/ Well, the landslide bring it down/ Oh, the landslide bring it down

These are the last lines in the song and probably the most powerful. By changing the “I” to “you” from the beginning of the song she directly says to Lindsey but to really anyone that ever listens to this song that she has seen who she is and what she wants, and now its up to us to love and accept her. The repetition of “landslide bring it down” helps to convey this thought.


As it happens shortly after Stevie Nicks wrote this song Mick Fleetwood one of the founding members of Fleetwood Mac contacted them and asked Nicks and Buckingham to join the band. They became successful very quickly. This song continues to touch me because I feel like everyone has that moment or perhaps has it multiple times where we must “see (our) reflection in the snow covered hills”.