I took my love, and I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life
Mm mm
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
Well, I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
even children get older
and I'm getting older, too
Oh, I'm getting older, too
Ahh ahh, take my love, take it down
Ahh ha, climbed a mountain and turned around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down, down
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
oh oh the landslide will bring it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life
Mm mm
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
Well, I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
even children get older
and I'm getting older, too
Oh, I'm getting older, too
Ahh ahh, take my love, take it down
Ahh ha, climbed a mountain and turned around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down, down
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
oh oh the landslide will bring it down
Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by WheelsUp, bruceswonger, zahuntah, john109961
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To me, The Landslide is time. Time moving very fast; making many changes in its wake. Can I handle those changes...the new seasons of my life that will come after they move on with their lives...I don't know. I am going to miss them so much when that happens... I really don't know if I can handle that.
"I climbed a mountain and I turned around." When I took my life journey, any time I spent reflecting on my past...I saw my mother... her reflection in the snow covered hills. (BTW I think it's ridiculous to assume the snow covered hills has anything to do with cocaine -- there are way too many beautiful literal and metaphorical interpretations that can be made. That is just too base.) I think the snow covered hills refers to the graying of the previous generations. I see my mother when I reflect on the snow covered hills in my journey. Even though she says "my reflection," for me, and I'm sure for many, it looks like "my reflection" but it's really my mother because we look alike. When my children climb the mountain and turn around, I can only assume they will see me and my snow covered hill.
And the last part for me means that I'm telling my children to take my love with them on their journey to the future, and if they see my reflection in the snow covered hills when they turn around and reflect on their past...they don't need to let anything I've done that could slow them down or cause them to doubt themselves to get in the way because in time...The Landslide (time) will make all those mistakes irrelevant. The Landslide of time takes care of all those issues. In time, they will be their own persons no matter what I've done, good bad or otherwise. But the love remains. They've taken that with them.
And OF COURSE "mirror in the sky" is God, or whatever higher power you believe in. (Again..nothing to do with drugs.) She refers to it as a "mirror" because it is during/through prayer/introspection/meditation that we often take the time to look at ourselves and evaluate who we are and where we're going. For me, "Oh mirror in the sky...what is love?" means do we demonstrate love more by holding on tight to those we love or by letting go...letting them take their own journeys and sending our love with them? How do we best demonstrate our love? I think the song answers that question.
As i write, it's 2018 and I've heard this song many many times and as an instrumentalist never paid attention to the lyric..but now as someone who qualifies for social security, i see it as both a parent and as a spouse..i am male, but i think this is geared more toward wives who try to put so much into a relationship with a man and as they age..perhaps he loses interest. It is quite something to have to face up to. Others have well stated what parents go through and it's universal. It's one reason why the parable of "The Prodigal Son" in the New Testament is so timeless in it's truth.
Then again it could just be playing with words that fit together and may mean something different to different people.
Janet
Landslide refers to the collapse of the relationship when she withdraws her love after a person/group betrays her.
She had dedicated her whole life to building this relationship (climbed a mountain), but the betrayal has caused her to stop (turn around) and take a hard look at how she sees herself and how others see her (her reflection).
This betrayal causes her to see herself as alone, unloved, and unappreciated--"in the snow-covered mountains," so she decides to withdraw her love (I take my love, and I take it down), which brings a sudden, massive end/landslide to the relationship.
She wonders what love is, if she can rise above this betrayal (Can the child within my heart rise above?), and if she can make this change and still continue in a positive way with her life (Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?).
She says that she has built her entire life around this person/group (I built my life around you), so taking down her love from this person/group does not come easy, but now she is older and has grown, so can make the change because she will no longer give to this person/group after he/they have abandoned her alone "in the snow-covered mountains."
She tells this person/group to walk away from this relationship (So take your love, take it down) because if he/they stop and reflect on the relationship and how the betrayal has left her abandoned, they will understand this landslide--why she has withdrawn her love and why the relationship has ended.