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Jessica Rosteutscher

Ms. Trotter

ENG 1201

21 February 2021

Analysis of The Different Versions of “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and The Chicks

Life is a never ending rollercoaster consisting of many twists and turns, and highs and

lows. This intriguing path is one we all take, but we can all still struggle to deal with these low

points even when there are many highs. One song in particular to help us with this struggle is

“Landslide.” In the second verse of the song “Landslide,” both Fleetwood Mac’s and The

Chicks’ version, the main claim can easily be identified when the artists say, “Can I sail through

the changin' ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?” These lyrics refer to the lesson

about life changing and how individuals can roll with the blows.

Fleetwood Mac released the song “Landslide” in the year of 1975 while Stevie Nicks, the

lead singer, was going through a relationship with a man named Lindsey Buckingham. They had

been struggling artists on the rising and she had released this song to save them. This music

video consists of Nicks on a stage shining in the spotlight with her guitar player the entire video.

It switches from frame to frame to see different angles of her putting her heart and soul into the

lyrics. Even though the video is simple, it is full of passion and emotion radiating off of Nicks’

performance. Viewers can vividly see in the video how she’s been struggling with the twists and

turns of life or relationships that have been thrown her way. Nonetheless, The Chicks take a

whole different route on displaying the purpose of this song. This video was released in 2010 and

is more visionary than Fleetwood Mac’s. It consists of all three women starting in different

locations; one is in a city walking on the street, another is sitting in a field with a house in the
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background, and the other is seen in a mythical land with a waterfall in the background. They

each are seen coming from different stages of life, but in the end they all go through a red door to

join each other near a body of water while singing in unison as one. The Chicks’ cover of

“Landslide” has the same message of going through and overcoming the changes and challenges

of life as Fleetwood Mac’s original version portrays. However, the methods utilized to get the

message across vary between the two as both appeal to different audiences and fall under

separate genres of music.

Moreover, both of these videos continue to have the same overall claims, but they speak

to separate audiences. The first way to differentiate their audiences is through the genres of

music they play. Fleetwood Mac’s group is seen more in the classic rock genre and more

specifically for this song, folk rock. It’s seen how this is considered classic or folk rock with the

simple rhythms and soaring vocals. They use guitar, bass, and a little drumming to accompany

the meaningful lyrics. This can target a specific audience based on the listener’s music taste and

if they are already following Fleetwood Mac’s new releases at the time. The Chicks’ version is

seen to be a more country version of this song based on the use of string instruments and the

pace of the song itself. This is seen as a country song with its ballads and harmonies. They slow

the speed of the song and add more vocals than the original, too. The songs may have the same

lyrics, but the difference in their uses of instruments, tempo, etc., all add up to really make them

their own creations.

Additionally, the two videos differ in the methods they use to target their audiences and is

the reason the artist has for singing the song. They both sing to middle-aged people or older, due

to this typically being the age group to listen to them. These people have had enough time in life

to understand the changes and challenges that come with it. For this reason, this age group can
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relate to this song. Although Fleetwood Mac is singing this song more about a relationship and

The Chicks are singing about life in general and the lessons that come with it. This is how their

claims slightly differ, because of what they are focusing on. They both sing to similar audiences,

but overall it’s different depending on the reasons why they sing it.

The main use of rhetoric in both of these videos is pathos, or emotions. First in Fleetwood

Mac’s music video, we can see the passion in the way she holds herself in the video and through

the lighting. The lighting focuses on Nicks, which helps to set the mood and add more emotion.

She also shows her emotions through the lyrics with no distractions, unlike The Chicks’ version.

In the Chicks’ version, the listener can see emotion through the three women in separate

locations trying to find their way to the right path in life. They all start in completely different

settings, but work together to meet up in the end. They come together in the last chorus when the

song says, “Oh-oh, take my love, take it down, Oh-oh, climb a mountain and you turn around.

And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills well, the landslide bring it down.” This

shows how they come together no matter what to push through life as one.

In essence, although The Chicks drastically altered Fleetwood Mac's original version of

"Landslide," the country folk band still left behind the heartwarming and powerful message

Fleetwood Mac bestowed in the beginning. They both come back to remind the listener of the

true tough times in life, but we will make it out of them with the people we hold dear in our

hearts. They each use pathos in their videos to tend to the audience, but they speak to separate

audiences, fall under different genres, use various methods to target their audiences, and have

different purposes for singing the song in the first place. Both of these videos may tend to

separate audiences and fall under different genres, but in the end they both ask the same

question: “Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?”
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Works Cited:

Fleetwood Mac. Landslide(Official Music Video). YouTube, 26 Oct. 2009,

https://youtu.be/WM7-PYtXtJM. Accessed 11 Feb. 2021.

The Chicks. Landslide(Official Video). YouTube, 27 Sept. 2010, https://youtu.be/J4_wXPZ1Bnk.

Accessed 11 Feb. 2021.