Shay’la Staten
ELA III
Gaba
21 October 2018
Thesis Statement: Transcendentalism can be found in a lot of music. It can be found in any
song, by any artist, any type of genre, old and new songs. Transcendentalism has 3 main key
points, and they are confidence, self thought and nonconformity.
Body Paragraph 1: Transcendentalism is the ability of having knowledge about yourself and
the world around you that goes beyond your sight, hearing, taste, touch and feel. This knowledge
comes through intuition and imagination. Not as much through logic. Some key points would be
confidence, nonconformity, free thought etc. The first song is Wake Me Up by Avicii. This
song is a great example of how transcendentalism can be found and identified in music.
Transcendentalism can be found in this song by reading the lyrics “Feeling my way through the
darkness/ Guided by a beating heart/ I can’t tell where the journey ends/ But I know where to
start”. When Avicii sings “Feeling my way through the darkness/I can’t tell where the journey
ends”, he’s saying that he is living life through the dark, and he doesn’t know what the future
will bring. When he sings “Guided by a beating heart/ But I know where to start”, he’s saying
that his heart is in control of guiding him to a direction, and he knows that wherever his heart
ends up guiding him, he has enough confidence to start and/or go in the right direction.
Body Paragraph 2: These two songs are also great examples of how transcendentalism can be
found in music. These songs are “Confident” and “This is Me” by Demi Lovato. These songs
both have their transcendental lyrics, and they are “It’s time for me to take it, I’m a boss right
now/ Not gonna fake it/ Not when you go down/ Cause this is my game, and you better come to
play/ What’s wrong with being Confident” and “This is real/ This is me/ I’m exactly where I’m
supposed to be now/ I’m gonna let the light, shine on me”. Both of these songs are written about
being confident. The lyrics of both of these songs clearly represent one of the points of
transcendentalism. Another is “Hero” by Mariah Carey. The lyrics are “There's a Hero/ If you
look inside your heart/ You don’t have to be afraid/ Of what you are”. This song represents
confidence also. Another song could be “Get up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley. The lyrics are “Get
up Stand Up/ Stand up for your rights/ Get up Stand Up/ We don't give up the fight”. This song
represents free thought. “Don’t Stop Believin” by Journey is another song that
transcendentalism can be found in. The lyrics are “Don’t stop believin’/ Hold on to that feelin’/
Strangers waiting up and down the boulevard/ Their shadows searching the night/ Streetlights,
people, living just to find emotion/ Hiding somewhere in the night”. This song represents
nonconformity.
