❄️ Avalanche holds a special place in the story of Vertigo.
Not only was it the album’s first single, it’s also one of the oldest songs I’ve ever written.
In fact, the origins of Avalanche stretch all the way back to the late 1980s.
While the finished version eventually evolved into the song you hear today, the heart of it remained surprisingly unchanged for decades.
Sometimes songs need time to find their moment.
Avalanche took nearly 40 years.
A Chorus That Refused to Change
One of the most remarkable things about Avalanche is that the chorus survived almost completely intact from its original version.
Back in the late 1980s, I wrote the lines:
“A landslide of love,
But what can I do,
‘Cause an avalanche hit me,
The avalanche was you.”
That lyric was inspired by “Landslide”, a track from Olivia Newton-John’s iconic 1981 album Physical.
Even as the song evolved through countless years, revisions, and rewrites, the chorus never felt like it needed changing.
It remained the emotional foundation of the song.
Sometimes the first instinct is the right one.
The Song That Almost Landed Somewhere Else
Before Avalanche became the lead-off single from Vertigo, it nearly appeared somewhere entirely different.
At one point it was being considered for the deluxe edition of Ignite the Fire.
Late in the process, however, I decided to replace it with Flat Tire.
For a while, it seemed like Avalanche might remain tucked away in the archives.
Looking back now, I’m glad it waited.
The song ultimately found the home it was meant to have.
Building an Avalanche
When I revisited the song in 2025, I wanted to fully commit to its central idea.
Much the same way Calculated Risk became filled with gambling language and imagery, I challenged myself to build Avalanche around words and concepts connected to the experience of an avalanche.
That’s why you’ll find references to:
- Terrain
- Storms
- Plunging
- Being swept up
- Rescue
- Snow
- Footprints
- Paths
- Ground
- Falling
- Rising
The imagery became part of the storytelling.
Rather than simply saying someone fell in love, the song places the listener directly inside the experience.
A Lyric From the Song
“I was never trained for this terrain,
I stumbled through without a clue.”
That line perfectly captures what the song is really about.
Not destruction.
Not catastrophe.
Unexpected love.
The realization that life can suddenly move in a direction you never anticipated.
More Than a Disaster Song
The title might suggest chaos.
Danger.
Something overwhelming.
And in many ways, those elements are present.
But Avalanche isn’t really about being buried.
It’s about being discovered.
One of my favorite moments comes later in the song:
“A heart I thought could not be found.”
That’s the emotional turning point.
Love doesn’t destroy the narrator.
It transforms him.
What initially feels overwhelming becomes something life-changing.
Why It Matters To Vertigo
Looking back, Avalanche was the perfect first single for Vertigo.
The album explores moments when our perspective changes unexpectedly.
When life shifts.
When certainty disappears.
When we find ourselves pulled somewhere we never expected to go.
That’s exactly what happens in Avalanche.
The narrator begins unprepared.
By the end, he emerges transformed.
That journey mirrors much of what the album is about.
Looking Back
One of the greatest joys of creating Vertigo was revisiting songs from different periods of my life and discovering new meanings within them.
Avalanche may have begun decades ago, but it ultimately became something larger than its original version.
The chorus remained.
The inspiration remained.
But experience brought new perspective.
In many ways, that idea captures the spirit of the entire album.
The songs remained.
The songwriter changed.
Now Streaming
❄️ Avalanche is available now as part of Vertigo.
I’d love to know:
Which song on the album surprised you the most after hearing it for the first time?
Final Quote
“Sometimes songs need time to find their moment. Avalanche took nearly 40 years.”
Hey there — I’m Jon. This is Moteventure, my corner of the internet where music, movies, lists, and life all collide. Glad you’re here.