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by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

When I heard at the close of the day
Language: English 
When I heard at the close of the day how my name had been receiv'd 
  with plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night for me that follow'd,
And else when I carous'd, or when my plans were accomplish'd, stil I was not happy,
But the day when I rose at dawn from the bed of perfect health, refresh'd, singing,
   inhaling the ripe breath of autumn,
When I saw the full moon in the west grow pale and disappear in the morning light,
When I wander'd alone over the beach, and undressing bathed,
  laughing with the cool waters, and saw the sun rise,
And when I thought how my dear friend my lover was on his way coming,
  O then I was happy,
O then each breath tasted sweeter, and all that day my food nourish'd me more,
  and the beautiful day pass'd well,
And the next came with equal joy, and with the next at evening came my friend,
And that night while all was still I heard the waters roll slowly
  continually up the shores,
I heard the hissing rustle of the liquid and sands as directed to me
  whispering to congratulate me,
For the one I love most lay sleeping by me under the same cover in the cool night,
In the stillness in the autumn moonbeams his face was inclined toward me,
And his arm lay lightly around my breast -- and that night I was happy.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892) [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 Clint Borzoni , "When I heard at the close of the day" [ voice and piano ], from A Live-Oak Growing, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Russell Platt (b. 1965), "When I Heard at the Close of the Day", copyright © 2006 [ baritone and piano ], from cantata From Noon to Starry Night - A Walt Whitman Cantata, no. 4, Fort Tryon Press [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2013-03-06
Line count: 20
Word count: 243

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