I Hear America Singing

Walt Whitman(1819–1892)

Leaves of Grass, 1860

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none elseThe day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

From Leaves of Grass (1882), via the English Wikisource transcription.

Public domainThis poem is in the public domain. You may read it, copy it, recite it and publish it without asking anyone.

About the poem

Whitman hears America singing: not one anthem but many voices at once — the mechanic, the carpenter, the mason, the boatman, the shoemaker, the mother, the young woman sewing — each carolling «what belongs to him» as they work.

The poem is a catalogue, Whitman's favourite figure: he lists trades and people until the sum makes a portrait of the country. What each one sings is distinct and their own, and that variety — not uniformity — is what democracy sounds like to Whitman. By day the trades; at night, the chorus of young fellows.