O how shall I warble myself for the dead one there I loved?
And how shall I deck my soul for the large sweet soul that has gone?
And what shall my perfume be [for]1 the grave of him I love?

Sea-winds blown from the east and west,
Blown from the Eastern sea and blown from the Western sea, [till there on the prairies meeting,
These and]2 with these [and the breath of my chant,]2
[I'll]3 perfume the grave of him I love.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Sessions: "to adorn"
² omitted by Sessions
³ Sessions: "Will I"

Text Authorship:

• by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Memories of President Lincoln, in When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, no. 10 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Jeffrey Van (b. 1941), "The Grave of Him I Love", from Reaping the Whirlwind / The Harvest of War [sung text not yet checked]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), no title [ baritone, mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra ], from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 6
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    
• by Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985), no title, from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 2
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 7
Word count: 83