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, I Hear America Singing, 1860
"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."