Song for Occupations: Revising Revisions

I. Initial Reaction to “Song for Occupations” (1855)

In “Song for Occupations,” Whitman immediately takes up where he left off in “Song of Myself.” Once again there’s that call for physical and spiritual union, and Whitman continues to make the case that his poems are essentially each and every one of us--that he is not “the head teacher or charitable proprietor or wise statesman.” He's talking again about the uniformity of experience, the democratic nature of his identity. It does seems to differ from “Song of Myself” in that Whitman addresses the reader far more directly. He broaches us with question after question:

“Why what have you thought of yourself?

Is it you then that thought yourself less?

Is it you that thought the President greater than you? or the rich better off than          you? or the educated wiser than you?

The urgency and sheer number of these questions show that Whitman is crushing the barriers set up between poet and reader to an even greater extent than he did in “Song of Myself.” It’s almost as if he  expects us to answer. It’s rather galvanizing in that way. The other effect it has is didactic, for he’s laying it all out for us without abstractions or innuendo. He’s taking a very no-nonsense approach in the poem to tell us what he has to tell us.

Interesting lines abound in the poem. The following passage for instance:

The sum of all known value and respect I add up in you whoever you are;

The President is up there in the White House for you . . . . it is not you who are          here for him,

The Secretaries act in their bureaus for you . . . . not you here for them,

The Congress convenes every December for you,

Laws, courts, the forming of states, the charters of cities, the going and coming of          commerce and mails are all for you.

Here Whitman likens American institutions (Congress, the White House, etc) to his poetry, reiterating the importance of the individual, the worker, and we the readers. Like American institutions, the ultimate purpose of Leaves of Grass is to benefit us. Without us the poetry is useless, as useless as a government without a people to serve.

II. Alterations Made to “Song for the Occupations” in Later Editions.

In 1856, the poem became “Poem of the Daily Work of The Workmen and Workwomen of These States.” We see that the same stylistic changes have been made  that were made to “Song of Myself.” In the 1860 edition, the poem becomes part of the “Chants Democratic” sequence, and so, clearly, has been given less indiviual significance. (However, it does keep its place toward the beginning of Leaves of Grass.) Here, the poem been altered in such a way as to sound more like a chant. Exclamations such as “American Masses!” and “Workmen and Workwomen!” have been added to make it sound like Whitman is directing a rally.

In the 1871-72 edition, the poem becomes “Carol of Occupations” and appears in the middle of Leaves of Grass. The poem has been drastically revamped in this version. Lines have been reorganized or removed completely, and certainly some of the oomph has been lost in the process of these alterations. Most significantly, perhaps, the ending that appeared in the 1855 edition has been cut:

When the psalm sings instead of the singer,

When the script preaches instead of the preacher,

When the pulpit descends and goes instead of the carver that carved the supporting          desk,

When the sacred vessels or the bits of the eucharist, or the lath and plast, procreate          as effectually as the young silversmiths or bakers, or the masons in their          overalls,

When a university course convinces like a slumbering woman and child convince,

When the minted gold in the vault smiles like the nightwatchman's daughter,

When warrantee deeds loafe in chairs opposite and are my friendly companions,

I intend to reach them my hand and make as much of them as I do of men and          women.

 However, in the 1881 edition, many of these changes were scraped. The poem, now back to “A Song for Occupations,” looks more like the original  that first appeared in 1855. The stylistic changes have been revised, so that the lines are long again. Also, the original ending has been revived, and the sections have become longer. By the time we get to the 1881-92 edition, Whitman seems to have more or less satisfied himself with this version. 

It's worth noting how the poem changed from a "song" to a "chant" to a "carol" and then back to a "song." Each of those has its own associations. We typically associate a chant to a rallying crowd, and a carol of course has its religious connotations. There's something about a song that, I think, is useful to Whitman--it suggests music, something universal and something that's valuable in itself. Chanting and caroling have  specific functions for specific people. There's also something about a song that has more appeal to the masses. And  songs themselves are diverse--there's drinking songs, working songs and so forth.