“I Hear America Singing”
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 else,
The day what belongs to the day — at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
WALT WHITMAN (1819 - 1892)
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"I Hear America Singing" is a poem by the American poet Walt Whitman, first published in the 1860 edition of his book Leaves of Grass. Though the poem was written on the eve of the Civil War, it presents a vision of America as a harmonious community. Moving from the city to the country, and the land to the sea, the poem envisions America as a place where people do honest, meaningful, and satisfying work — and celebrate that work in song. America emerges from the work of these many and diverse individual people: their separate work comes together to form a coherent whole. In this way, in the poem's account, America is a nation where individuality and unity are balanced, each producing and reinforcing the other.
“I Hear America Singing” Summary
I can hear all of America singing: I hear the many different songs that people sing. I hear mechanics singing, and all of them are singing proudly and strongly — as they should be. I hear the carpenter singing as he measures pieces of wood. I hear the bricklayer singing as he gets ready for work or comes home at the end of the day. I hear the boatman singing about his work in the boat. I hear the crew singing on the deck of the steamboat. I hear the cobbler singing as he sits at his bench and the hatter singing as he stands at his workstation. I hear the logger’s song, the young farmer singing on his way to plow the fields in the morning, or during his lunch break, or at sunset. I hear the sweet song of the mother or the new bride working, or of the girl who sews or washes clothes. Each of them sings about their own work, their own life, and nothing else. During the day, they sing songs appropriate to the day. At night, strong, friendly young men sing with open mouths their loud, tuneful songs.
“I Hear America Singing” Themes
Work and American Identity
"I Hear America Singing" presents an idyllic — and idealized — vision of American life. The poem moves from the city to the country, from the shore to the sea, introducing the reader along the way to all different works along the way — from farmers, to shoemakers, to housewives.
Traveling through these places and professions, the speaker gradually builds a portrait of America as a place where people find joy and fulfillment in productivity and honest labor — even if that labor is not typically "sung" about in poetry. And while the poem takes care to emphasize the dignity and pride of each of these workers in their own right, it also affirms that the workers’ many songs come together to form the sound of "America" itself.
The speaker’s list of jobs cuts across the whole of the United States: moving from urban professionals making fashionable hats to those engaged in rural jobs, like plowing fields; from jobs on shore to jobs on the water. The speaker even includes women alongside men, acknowledging the work they do as important contributions to American society. Though the speaker limits this work to domestic chores like "sewing or washing", the fact that women are included at all is notable given that they were largely excluded from American political life at the time the poem was written.
In the speaker’s vision, it seems everyone gets to participate in creating the American song, no matter their location, class, or gender (even if, to the modern eye, the terms of their participation are somewhat limited and constrained along traditional lines).
What's more, all of these different workers are singing. This probably isn’t literally true, though perhaps a couple folks are indeed whistling away the hours. Instead, these songs are meant to represent the joy these workers take in their labor. Americans, the singing suggests, derive a sense of pride and dignity from their productivity. When the speaker says, "Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else", this affirms the right of each worker to find personal value, and even a sense of self, directly in whatever work they do.
It's also worth noting that music and song are often used in literature as stand-ins for poetry itself. Part of the beauty of America, the poem thus implies, is that regular people are worthy of such song; you don't need to be some sort of mythical hero, beautiful damsel, or wealthy aristocrat for your life to be "sung" about, i.e., to be elevated to the level of poetry.
Yet even as the poem celebrates self-sufficiency and individualism through these "varied carols", it emphasizes that all these workers together form the fabric of America. However unique each of these workers, the poem is saying, what makes America is that they are all singing.
After all, as the poem’s first line announces, the speaker hears "America singing" — not "many workers singing". For the speaker, America is a place where people get to have it both ways: they're at once individuals, with personal freedom and independence, and part of a larger, harmonious collective. That, the poem ultimately suggests, is what America's "song" is all about.
Available at: https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/walt-whitman/i-hear-america-singing. Accessed on September 27, 2020.
"I Hear America Singing" is a poem by the American poet Walt Whitman, first published in the 1860 edition of his book Leaves of Grass. Though the poem was written on the eve of the Civil War, it presents a vision of America as a harmonious community. Moving from the city to the country, and the land to the sea, the poem envisions America as a place where people do honest, meaningful, and satisfying work — and celebrate that work in song. America emerges from the work of these many and diverse individual people: their separate work comes together to form a coherent whole. In this way, in the poem's account, America is a nation where individuality and unity are balanced, each producing and reinforcing the other.
“I Hear America Singing” Summary
I can hear all of America singing: I hear the many different songs that people sing. I hear mechanics singing, and all of them are singing proudly and strongly — as they should be. I hear the carpenter singing as he measures pieces of wood. I hear the bricklayer singing as he gets ready for work or comes home at the end of the day. I hear the boatman singing about his work in the boat. I hear the crew singing on the deck of the steamboat. I hear the cobbler singing as he sits at his bench and the hatter singing as he stands at his workstation. I hear the logger’s song, the young farmer singing on his way to plow the fields in the morning, or during his lunch break, or at sunset. I hear the sweet song of the mother or the new bride working, or of the girl who sews or washes clothes. Each of them sings about their own work, their own life, and nothing else. During the day, they sing songs appropriate to the day. At night, strong, friendly young men sing with open mouths their loud, tuneful songs.
“I Hear America Singing” Themes
Work and American Identity
"I Hear America Singing" presents an idyllic — and idealized — vision of American life. The poem moves from the city to the country, from the shore to the sea, introducing the reader along the way to all different works along the way — from farmers, to shoemakers, to housewives.
Traveling through these places and professions, the speaker gradually builds a portrait of America as a place where people find joy and fulfillment in productivity and honest labor — even if that labor is not typically "sung" about in poetry. And while the poem takes care to emphasize the dignity and pride of each of these workers in their own right, it also affirms that the workers’ many songs come together to form the sound of "America" itself.
The speaker’s list of jobs cuts across the whole of the United States: moving from urban professionals making fashionable hats to those engaged in rural jobs, like plowing fields; from jobs on shore to jobs on the water. The speaker even includes women alongside men, acknowledging the work they do as important contributions to American society. Though the speaker limits this work to domestic chores like "sewing or washing", the fact that women are included at all is notable given that they were largely excluded from American political life at the time the poem was written.
In the speaker’s vision, it seems everyone gets to participate in creating the American song, no matter their location, class, or gender (even if, to the modern eye, the terms of their participation are somewhat limited and constrained along traditional lines).
What's more, all of these different workers are singing. This probably isn’t literally true, though perhaps a couple folks are indeed whistling away the hours. Instead, these songs are meant to represent the joy these workers take in their labor. Americans, the singing suggests, derive a sense of pride and dignity from their productivity. When the speaker says, "Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else", this affirms the right of each worker to find personal value, and even a sense of self, directly in whatever work they do.
It's also worth noting that music and song are often used in literature as stand-ins for poetry itself. Part of the beauty of America, the poem thus implies, is that regular people are worthy of such song; you don't need to be some sort of mythical hero, beautiful damsel, or wealthy aristocrat for your life to be "sung" about, i.e., to be elevated to the level of poetry.
Yet even as the poem celebrates self-sufficiency and individualism through these "varied carols", it emphasizes that all these workers together form the fabric of America. However unique each of these workers, the poem is saying, what makes America is that they are all singing.
After all, as the poem’s first line announces, the speaker hears "America singing" — not "many workers singing". For the speaker, America is a place where people get to have it both ways: they're at once individuals, with personal freedom and independence, and part of a larger, harmonious collective. That, the poem ultimately suggests, is what America's "song" is all about.
Available at: https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/walt-whitman/i-hear-america-singing. Accessed on September 27, 2020.
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