One song that I have clung to over the years and still greatly admire today is “Landslide” sung the Dixie Chicks and originally performed by Fleetwood Mac. It’s the song you probably know the whole chorus too and can hear the way it sounds in your head right now.

It is a timeless song that encapsulates the fear of change, love, strength and seeing your true self and your worth. Behind the melodic harmony of voices, the lyrics convey a story that almost everyone at any age can relate to in some way but they also offer hope for the future.

The most powerful thing about “Landslide” is the vibrant imagery that the words illustrate in the audience’s minds. The setting of the song appears to be in an open, mountainous place with “snow covered hills.”

The emptiness and pure natural atmosphere of the location alludes to feelings of transcendentalism and being alone with the environment.

When it says, “Oh, mirror in the sky,” this image really presents reflecting with yourself to see where you are at right now and where you are going.

The song itself is really about change; it describes how, throughout the years, our lives change and how we must grow.

One of the reasons I love this song so much is because it doesn’t focus on what is being lost, but focuses on a new start: a clear reflection.

One thing that I think people don’t realize is that opportunities aren’t synonymous with success; they can be failures too. Sometimes we need to climb that mountain to get a new perspective about our self.

The song says, “Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?” These confrontations in life, whether it’s because of people, love, heartbreak, or fear, are just obstructions on the way to finding our true selves and really growing up.

“Landslide” itself is an exploration into one’s own mindset. Not only is it about change but it is more about finding yourself. It speaks out that it’s never too late to be who you want to be and even to change yourself for the better.

When the Dixie Chicks sing, “But time makes you bolder. Children get older. I’m getting older too,” they are saying that growth is something we all must go through, and over time, no matter how much we want things to stay the same, they simply cannot.