I Hope You Dance - Lee Ann WomackI hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger May you never take one single breath for granted God forbid love ever leave you empty handed I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance I hope you dance I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance Never settle for the path of least resistance Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin' Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin' Don't let some Hellbent heart leave you bitter When you come close to sellin' out, reconsider Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance I hope you dance (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along) I hope you dance I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder, where those years have gone?) I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance Dance (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along) I hope you dance I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder, where those years have gone?) |
“I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack has always been a significant song in my life, but only now do I recognize its relation to the theory of transcendentalism. This song is all about being yourself and taking the chances that are given to you. Transcendentalists believe that intuition and individualism are stronger than following others. When Lee Ann Womack sings “never settle for the path of least resistance” that directly relates to a transcendentalist’s belief in nonconformity. “May you never take one single breath for granted,” means to make the most of your life. Transcendentalists would believe in having a purpose behind everything. For example, in Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau goes to jail to protest taxes aiding the institution of slavery. His essay went on to inspire Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Transcendentalism is about doing what is best for you and ignoring society when necessary. Lee Ann Womack also compares parts of life to aspects of nature. She sings, “I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance” and “I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.” In these lines she is referring to dreams. No matter what obstacles lay in front of you, you should never fear them and always know that there is a big world out there for your dreams to come true. |