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 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 with these and the breath of my chant,
I'll perfume the grave of him I love.

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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