Transcendental Music
Meadowlarks - Fleet Foxes
Meadowlark, fly your way down.
I hold a cornucopia and a golden crown
For you to wear upon your fleecy down.
My meadowlark, sing to me.
Hummingbird, just let me die
Inside the broken ovals of your olive eye.
I do believe you gave it your best try.
My hummingbird, sing to me.
My hummingbird, sing to me.
Don't believe a word that I haven't heard.
Little children laughing at the boys and girls.
The meadowlark singing to you each and every day.
The arc light on the hillside and the market in the hay
This song reflects transcendental ideas because it shows one man's connection to nature. The narrator of this story forms a bond with the birds around him. By observing the birds and interacting with them, he learns how much his own life means to him. The transcendentalists believe that man must actively experience nature to gain wisdom and the narrator of this song does exactly that.
Three Places in New England - Charles Ives
Charles Ives was an American composer who was born in Danbury, Connecticut and lived from 1874 to 1954. He was one of the first true American composers to to gain national renown. Nature and other transcendental staples heavily influenced Ives's work. When he went on a walk through the countryside with his wife, Ives became inspired by the sounds and beauty he experienced throughout the nature.