The Magic of the Outdoors

Ever since I was young my mother has listened to the band The Dixie Chicks. I vividly remember coming down the steps every Saturday morning smelling the sweet scent of pancakes and hearing the sound of banjos, violins, guitars and fiddles. The Dixie Chicks, are a three woman country band who I believe have shaped and transformed me into the person I am today. 

I have always been drawn to the outdoors. Weather its the small pond on my grandparents property or the large mountains in Yellowstone National Park, I have always loved to be outside and breathe in the fresh air. Most of the songs that The Dixie Chicks write focus on the outdoors and how the "wide open spaces" can be beautiful. 

In specific, one of my favorite songs that the band has written is the song "Cowboy Take Me Away" on the album Wide Open Spaces. The song depicts the wonder and adventure that being in the outdoors can provide and sometimes how wild and fun it can be. The first lines state...

I said, I wanna touch the earth
I wanna break it in my hands
I wanna grow something wild and unruly
I wanna sleep on the hard ground
In the comfort of your arms
On a pillow of blue bonnets
In a blanket made of stars
Oh, it sounds good to me

The song depicts the beauties and love for the earth. It describes physically what the soil and the ground feels like. The use of Imagery in the poem really helps me view what is really happening in the poem I can really visualize myself doing some of these things. It also uses a metaphor "in a blanket made of stars" it really transforms the line into one that feels comfortable and beautiful.  The song then goes on to say that it all sounds good to them to be in the outdoors and to be living in the unpredictable and "wild". The next few lines state...

I wanna walk and not run
I wanna skip and not fall
I wanna look at the horizon and not see a building standing tall
I wanna be the only one for miles and miles

Through these lines I feel like one really feels the magic of the outdoors. They are able to be free and wild and not worry about being around other people. In listening to this song it has really taught me to be myself and to act wild and free, especially when I am in the outdoors. The repetition of the words "I wanna" really emphasize that in the outdoors a lot can be done. I am always able to transform myself into the beauty and wildness of the outdoors and really appreciate the beauty of the outdoors by listening to this song. This song is trans formative and beautiful just like a poem.