I Hear America Singing -- HELP

[run.faster]

Could someone please try and explain this to me...

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 singing on the steamboat deck; 5
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,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs.

[Il Penseroso]

What are you having trouble with?

[summer grace]

I think it is about how we all live our various lives, and although we are not literally singing, we are in the sense that we are by making America join together. So, we are joining together to make America what it is by doing our day to day tasks- ''singing''. I think it says at night, people have more leisure, so maybe you can literally sing, or I would say entertain yourself. But what belongs to the day is less realistic singing. Who wrote this? ( forgive me for not knowing).

[cvanackeren]

It's about the diversity of the working class in 19th century America. The writer is Walt Whitman, silly! Whitman writes to "show the variety of workers that make up America and to emphasize their contributions to American life." McDougal Littel, teacher's edition.

[shantifu]

Whitman is known for his use of catalogues, in which he shows images of the working man in constant movement. He also uses it in Song of Myself to not only show us the diversity of the working class man but in some instances to show how we are all connected, no matter how different we think we are.

Sorry for jumping in, I had some trouble with this too when I first began reading Whitman.