by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
I will be honest with you
Language: English
Listen! I will be honest with you, I do not offer the old smooth prizes, but offer rough new prizes, These are the days that must happen to you: You shall not heap up what is call’d riches, You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve, You but arrive at the city to which you were destin’d, you hardly settle yourself to satisfaction before you are call’d by an irresistible call to depart, You shall be treated to the ironical smiles and mockings of those who remain behind you, What beckonings of love you receive you shall only answer with passionate kisses of parting, You shall not allow the hold of those who spread their reach’d hands toward you.
Text Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), appears in Song of the Open Road, no. 11 [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 Kate Moore (b. 1979), "I will be honest with you", 2008 [ mezzo-soprano, harp, trumpet and organ ], from The Open Road, no. 10, Deuss Music
Publisher: Deuss Music [external link] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-09-14
Line count: 10
Word count: 123