Landslide: The Song Stevie Nicks Wrote at a Crossroads

By Dan Cohen · Published 2026-06-27

Landslide, from Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled album, was written by Stevie Nicks at a genuine crossroads in her life. By the widely told account, she wrote it in the mountains of Colorado during a period of deep uncertainty — unsure whether the music she and Lindsey Buckingham were chasing would ever work out, weighing whether to give up, facing the prospect of a completely different future.

The fear of change

That’s the song’s real subject: the vertigo of a turning point, the fear of getting older and of the ground shifting beneath you. The “landslide” is change itself — the way life can sweep away the version of yourself you’ve known. It’s remarkably honest about being afraid, and about loving someone (or something) while not knowing if you can carry it forward.

A mirror that ages with you

Because it’s about change and the passage of time, the song means something different at every stage of life — which is why it’s been embraced across generations and sung back by people of every age. A private moment of doubt in a Colorado winter became a mirror that listeners keep growing into.

What it measures like

On our measurements it’s gentle and intimate — soft, slow and acoustic, built on quiet so the vulnerability has room to land. Full profile on its song page.

Landslide appears on Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled album. The account of Stevie Nicks writing it at a personal and professional crossroads reflects her widely reported statements. No lyrics are reproduced.