Lee Ann Womack is one of the most talented country vocalists to ever walk the planet. She manages to co-write inspiring songs, and still make sure the instrumentals are still great too. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Texas Lee Ann Womack was inspired to get into the music industry. Mr. Womack, her father, was actually a disc jockey, so he would sometimes take his daughter to the studio to hear new songs. Lee Ann even skipped her high school senior trip to go to Nashville and tour the Music Row! This country music obsession all began for her when she heard her first country song while cleaning the house with her mom as a child; Lee Ann Womack knew that that’s what she wanted to do with her life. It saddened her to be so far from the music world she desperately wanted to be at the center of. Lee Ann Womack was especially fond of Tammy Wynette or George Jones growing up. Once she made it big in the country music world this sadness quickly disappeared. Her albums all portray all different kinds of emotions; happy, sad, angry, you name it. Lee Ann Womack’s most recent album, Crazy, is considered her best work, however. However, perhaps Womack’s song “I Hope You Dance” (written by Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers) is the most recognized song by her. “I Hope You Dance” is a song filled with poetic terms and devices in each verse, and really shows how well Womack can sing.
Throughout the song “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack there are many memorable, encouraging lines. Lee Ann sings, “And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance”. Many would agree that this means that when life gives us the opportunity to sit out or take action we should choose to take action. Also, the line, “I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean” (bridge; line one) is saying that Lee Ann Womack hopes that we never get an inflated ego that would be bigger than the ocean! Yet another notable line I enjoyed in this lovely song was, “May you never take one single breath for granted, god forbid love ever leave you empty handed” (first verse, line four). This line to me means that people shouldn’t take things for granted in case someday that it were taken away, and then you would feel so sad that it was gone. Another inspiring quote includes a line from the second verse on the ninth line, “When you come close to selling out, reconsider” (second verse; ninth line). I think that the meaning behind this line is that whenever you are ready to quit and give up, try again. The last notable line in this song was, “Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance” (first verse, line nine). This line may have several different meanings, but I think it suggests that everyone give faith and God a chance to show you that they do exist also that good things actually exist in this world today even if it seems impossible, however you may view this differently. As far as notable lines are concerned, “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack has several memorable ones that teach us all a bit about life!
In addition to notable lines, “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack also contains many different types of poetic terms and devices that make the song even more interesting to listen to. One of which includes, “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder; you get your fill to eat, but always keep that hunger” (first verse, line one). This line is a great example of a metaphor because it is comparing one’s sense of wonder to food. And of course one’s sense of wonder cannot be consumed! Another poetic term found in this song was an allegory (a figurative mode of expression conveying a meaning other than literal). The allegory was, “Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens” (verse one; line eight). This line should not be taken literally since obviously Lee Ann Womack does not want doors to randomly open whenever one closes. Instead, it means that she hopes that whenever one opportunity is ended, that another one will be presented. This line also happens to be an expression that is commonly used today, and it means the same thing. One final poetic device I found in this song was in the second verse, “I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance” (second verse; line one). This is a metaphor that compares problems in the future to mountains. By singing this line Lee Ann Womack is trying to communicate that she hopes one will never fear problems that are yet to come. This metaphor is a very smart, well thought out metaphor because “mountains in the distance” is an awesome way to describe future problems that haven’t actually occurred yet! The writers of “I Hope You Dance”, Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers, did an amazing job of using poetic terms and devices.
Overall, “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack is an awesome song with some great examples of poetic devices, and notable lines. This song even encourages us to live our lives to the fullest! This song was, in my opinion, a huge door opener for country music since many people never really knew much country songs until this song was played everywhere. “I Hope You Dance” was number one on billboards for five weeks, which as any artist would agree, is hard to do. Lee Ann even performed this song at the Nobel Peace Prize concert way back in 2000. Lee Ann Womack was very fortunate to be able to sing such an inspiring song.
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