Transcendentalism in Country Music What is the message that an artist is trying to send when they write or sing a country song? Though some country songs seem to be filled with lyrics about girls, alcohol, and trucks, many deliver words that suggest a more free and truthful way of life. Although songs of all genres can be pointless and dumb, many artists portray their transcendentalist thoughts through their music. Ideas such as self-reliance, importance of nature, and nonconformity have unceasingly continued to appear in the lyrics of many Country songs and can be identified in hits including “Wide Open Spaces” by Dixie Chicks, “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack, and “Real Live Woman” by Trisha Yearwood. The transcendentalist idea of self-reliance is easily found in “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack. In this song, …show more content…
In her song, Yearwood explains that she will not change herself to fit the expectations of society for her to be like the women in magazines and on TV. She begins her song by saying, “I don’t buy the lines in magazines that tell me what I’ve got to be… I don’t fit the mold society has planned.” She is confident in the fact that she can be her true self and does not feel the need to try to be what people expect or want her to be. She adds, “And I no longer justify reasons for the way that I behave, I offer no apologies for the things that I believe and say, and I like it that way.” Yearwood is insisting that she will not apologize for being herself, having her own opinions, or being unlike other women. Emerson says, “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure” (Emerson page #). He is acknowledging the fact that the world does not approve of people expressing themselves if their opinion does not follow the crowd. Yearwood argues that she does not care if the world is displeased with her because she is being true to herself and being