This soundtrack is a collection of all different genres and artists to show how Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism are shown in everyday things like music. The Transcendentalism side explores the need for individuality in all peoples, using nature to find beauty and inspire, and valuing the heart over the brain. In contrast, the Dark Romanticism side shows humans as being feeble creatures that are prone to loneliness and are overall the biggest force of destruction to themselves. I can personally relate to a good majority of these songs in one way or another as Bright and Dark Romanticism shows both sides of the spectrum in terms of human emotions and instincts.
1. The Spectrum of Romanticism
This soundtrack is a collection of all different genres and artists to show
how Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism are shown in everyday
things like music. The Transcendentalism side explores the need for
individuality in all peoples, using nature to find beauty and inspire, and
valuing the heart over the brain. In contrast, the Dark Romanticism side
shows humans as being feeble creatures that are prone to loneliness and
that they are overall the biggest force of destruction to themselves. I can
personally relate to a good majority of these songs in one way or another
as Bright and Dark Romanticism shows both sides of the spectrum in terms
of human emotions and instincts.
By: Autumn Rose
2. “Raise Your Glass” – Pink
“Raise Your Glass” expertly
shows the Romanticist idea of
individuality in the chorus and
bridge of the song: “So raise
your glass if you are wrong/In
all the right ways, all my
underdogs” and “You can
choose to let it go/…we can
always party on our own”. This
song is, all in all, saying ‘it’s
okay to be different, raise
yourself up, show your
uniqueness, and let what other
people think of you go.
So if you're too school for cool
(I mean)
And you're treated like a fool
(You're treated like a fool)
You can choose to let it go
We can always, we can always party on our own
So raise your (--------)
So raise your glass if you are wrong
In all the right ways, all my underdogs
We will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty, gritty, dirty, little freaks
(So raise your glass if you are wrong)
So raise your glass if you are wrong
In all the right ways, all my underdogs
We will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty, gritty, dirty, little freaks
Won't you come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Just come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Won't you come on and come on and
Raise your glass for me!
Just come on and come on and
Raise your glass for me!
For me
3. “The Middle” – Jimmy
Eat World
This song by Jimmy Eat World has
countless examples of individuality.
Many of the lines in the song are
saying not to worry if you’re different
and don’t feel left out because of it.
This is shown specifically in the lines
“don’t you worry what they tell
themselves when/ you’re away”.
Jimmy Eat World even specifically adds
“Hey, you know they’re all the
same/…just be yourself” to show
individuality as a positive attribute.
Hey, don't write yourself off yet
It's only in your head you feel left out or
looked down on.
Just try your best, try everything you can.
And don't you worry what they tell themselves
when you're away.
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright, alright.
Hey, you know they're all the same.
You know you're doing better on your own (on
your own), so don't buy in.
Live right now, yeah, just be yourself.
It doesn't matter if it's good enough (good
enough) for someone else.
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright, alright.
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright, alright.
4. “Mountain Sound” – Of Monsters and Men
“Mountain Sound” by Of
Monsters and Men represents
nature being a source of truth,
beauty, and inspiration in the
lines “Through the woods we
ran/ Deep into the mountain
sound”. This song is about
getting away from past mistakes,
but features the idea of nature
being the, so to speak, get away
place to renew and inspire.
I heard them calling in the distance
So I packed my things and ran
Far away from all the trouble
I had caused with my two hands
Alone we travelled armed with nothing but a
shadow
We fled, far away
Hold your horses now
(Sleep until the sun goes down)
Through the woods we ran
(Deep into the mountain sound)
Hold your horses now
(Sleep until the sun goes down)
Through the woods we ran
Some had scars and some had scratches
It made me wonder about their past
And as I looked around I began to notice
That we were nothing like the rest
5. “Pocketful of Sunshine” – Natasha Bedingfield
“Pocketful of Sunshine”, as the
title suggests, is a good example
of nature as a source of truth
beauty and inspiration. There are
many references to nature, i.e.
“Where the rivers flow/ and I call
it home” and it just all around
seems that the singer truly enjoys
being in nature and views nature
as beautiful. Again, the singer,
therefore, seems to think of
nature as a “sweet escape” and a
beautiful place to inspire herself.
I got pocket,
Got a pocketful of sunshine
I've got a love and I know that it's all mine
Oh, oh, oh
Wish that you could,
But you ain't gonna own me
Do anything you can to control me
Oh, oh, oh
There's a place that I go
That nobody knows
Where the rivers flow
And I call it home
And there's no more lies
And the darkness is light
And nobody cries
There’s only butterflies
Take me away (take me away)
A secret place (a secret place)
A sweet escape (a sweet escape)
Take me away (take me away)
Take me away (take me away
To better days (to better days)
Take me away (take me away)
A hiding place (a hiding place)
6. “I Believe I Can Fly’ – R Kelly
“I Believe I Can Fly” is a song that
perfectly shows the Romanticist
idea of valuing intuition over
reason. The song is about
believing in your heart over your
mind. The singer is trying to say
because they found love that he
believes he can do anything,
regardless of logicality. He says “I
believe I can fly/ I believe I can
touch the sky” and “I believe I can
soar”. Overall, he knows he can’t
actually fly, but he feels so great
that he completely disregards the
logical side of the situation and
stays to true to his heart
regardless. The singer just thinks
that “if I just believe it, there’s
nothing to it”.
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
See I was on the verge of breaking down
Sometimes silence can seem so loud
There are miracles in life I must achieve
But first I know it starts inside of me, oh
7. “High Hopes” – Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra’s classic song “High
Hopes” shows this Bright
Romanticist idea through
different scenarios of animals
and such believing they can do
something without any logical
reason. The lyrics go: “Just what
makes that little old ant/ Think
he’ll move that rubber tree
plant” and Sinatra even goes on
to say “Anyone knows an ant,
can’t/ Move a rubber tree plant”.
The ant, even though just a tiny
little insect, believes in his heart
of hearts he can move the plant,
disregarding the logicality of the
situation.
Next time you're found, with your chin
on the ground
There a lot to be learned, so look around
Just what makes that little old ant
Think he'll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can't
Move a rubber tree plant
But he's got high hopes, he's got high
hopes
He's got high apple pie, in the sky hopes
So any time you're gettin' low
'stead of lettin' go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree
plant
8. “The Lonely” – Christina Perri
Christina Perri’s “The Lonely” is,
very obviously, about emphasis on
the emotions of guilt, fear and,
particularly, loneliness and is,
therefore, a perfect example of the
Romanticist idea. The title of the
song suggests that it’s about, well,
being lonely and is proven
immediately in the first verse: “The
silent sound of loneliness/ Wants to
follow me to bed” These feelings are
referenced many more times
throughout the chorus and the
majority of the verses; respectively,
“Can the lonely take the place of
you” and “Cause the loneliness will
stay with me”.
2am; where do I begin,
Crying off my face again.
The silent sound of loneliness
Wants to follow me to bed.
I'm the ghost of a girl that I want to be most.
I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well.
Dancing slowly in an empty room,
Can the lonely take the place of you?
I sing myself a quiet lullaby.
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again.
Too afraid to go inside
For the pain of one more loveless night.
Cause the loneliness will stay with me
And hold me till I fall asleep.
9. “Habits (Stay High)” – Tove Lo
This song by Tove Lo is about
having/developing bad habits due
to the loss of someone, in other
words, having loneliness. The chorus
of the song continuously shows this
theme of having to do something,
anything to keep this fear of being
alone away; “Gotta stay high all my
life/ To forget I’m missing you”. It’s
obvious the singer is upset and
feeling lonely, even depressed,
which leads to irregular habits and
her feeling “dazed and kinda lonely”.
I get home, I got the munchies
Binge on all my Twinkies
Throw up in the tub
Then I go to sleep
And I drank up all my money
Dazed and kinda lonely
You're gone and I gotta stay
High all the time
To keep you off my mind
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
High all the time
To keep you off my mind
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Spend my days locked in a haze
Trying to forget you babe
I fall back down
Gotta stay high all my life
To forget I'm missing you
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
10. “Hurt” – Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt”
(originally sung by Nine Inch Nails)
shows this Dark Romantic idea of
humans being prone to sin and
self-destruction in just the first
couple lines: “I hurt myself today”.
There are many more examples of
this throughout the song, for
example “I will let you down/ I will
make you hurt” , but the most
powerful being the last verse, “If I
could start again/…I would keep
myself” These lines mean if given a
second chance, he wouldn’t
destroy himself again but rather
keep to his morals. In simpler
words, he regrets his self-
destruction, but is very aware it’s
there.
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
11. “Breathe Me” - Sia
“Breathe Me” sounds somewhat
like a cry for help in that the
singer, Sia, has or is destroying
herself. ‘Help’, to prove, is the very
first word sang in the song: “Help,
I have done it again”. Keeping this
idea of Romanticism, Sia shows
this painful self-destruction in
“Hurt myself again today/ and the
worst part is there’s no one else to
blame” and “Lost myself again and
I feel unsafe”. The singer knows
she’s ‘unstable’ and needs help
and that she has completely
destroyed herself. This song is
obviously on terms of personal
experience and that only pushes
the idea of self-destruction
further.
Help, I have done it again
I have been here many times before
Hurt myself again today
And the worst part is there's no one else to
blame
Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me
Ouch, I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,
Yeah, I think that I might break
Lost myself again and I feel unsafe