by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
These are really the thoughts of all
Language: English
These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are not original with me, If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to nothing, If they are not the riddle and the untying of the riddle they are nothing, If they are not just as close as they are distant they are nothing. This is the grass that grows wherever the land is and the water is, This the common air that bathes the globe.
Text Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), appears in Song of Myself, no. 17 [author's text not yet checked 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 Karen P. Thomas (b. 1957), "These are really the thoughts of all", copyright © 2001 [ voice and piano ], from Song of myself, no. 1
Publisher: Karen P. Thomas [external link] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-11-06
Line count: 6
Word count: 86