In this poem, Whitman honors the American work ethic. He describes how the voices of individual citizens come together in unison to represent the pride and joy Americans take in their work. At the same time, this blend of different voices into one is symbolic of American patriotism. I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, 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, 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 deckhand singingon the steamboat deck, The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as hestands, The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or atnoon intermission or at sundown, The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girlsewing or washing, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, The day what belongs to the