by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
I tramp a perpetual journey See original
Language: English
... I tramp a perpetual journey, (come listen all!) My signs are a rain-proof coat, good shoes, and a staff cut from the woods, No friend of mine takes his ease in my chair, I have no chair, no church, no philosophy, I lead no man to a dinner-table, library, exchange, But each man and each woman of you I lead upon a knoll, My left hand hooking you round the waist, My right hand pointing to landscapes of continents and the public road. Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you, You must travel it for yourself. ...
Note: some lines have added line breaks (and indentations) to fit on the page.
Composition:
- Set to music by Silvan Loher (b. 1986), "I tramp a perpetual journey", op. 6 no. 10, stanzas 2-3 [ voice and piano ], from Ten Poems by Walt Whitman, no. 10
Text Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Song of Myself, no. 46
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-11
Line count: 44
Word count: 412