Leaves of Grass (1860)
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| 1 AMERICAN mouth-songs! |
| Those of mechanics—each one singing, his, as it
should be, blithe and strong, |
| The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank
or beam, |
)
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| The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work,
or leaves off work, |
| The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat
—the deck-hand singing on the steamboat deck, |
| The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench—the
hatter singing as he stands, |
| The wood-cutter's song—the ploughboy's, on his way
in the morning, or at the noon intermission, or at sundown; |
| The delicious singing of the mother—or of the
young wife at work—or of the girl sewing or washing—Each singing what belongs to her, and to none else, |
| The day what belongs to the day—At night, the
party, of young fellows, robust, friendly, clean- blooded, singing with melodious voices, melo- dious thoughts. |
| 2 Come! some of you! still be flooding The States
with hundreds and thousands of mouth-songs, fit for The States only. |