by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
I celebrate myself, and sing myself
Language: English
I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air, Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same, I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, Hoping to cease not till death. Creeds and schools in abeyance, Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten, I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard, Nature without check with original energy.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Song of Myself, no. 1 [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 David L. Brunner , "In celebration", published 1978 [ SSATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Andrew Hudson , "I celebrate myself", from Three Poems Of Walt Whitman, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vincent Persichetti (1915 - 1987), "I celebrate myself", op. 103 no. 2, published 1967 [ chorus and woodwinds ], from Celebrations: Cantata no. 3, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 122