"I Sing the Body Electric" is a poem by
Walt Whitman
Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...
from his 1855 collection ''
Leaves of Grass
''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting ''Leaves of Grass'', revising it multiple times until his death. Th ...
''. The poem is divided into nine sections, each celebrating a different aspect of human physicality.
Its original publication, like the other poems in ''Leaves of Grass'', did not have a title. In fact, the line "I sing the body electric" was not added until the 1867 edition. At the time, ''electric'' was not yet a commonly used term.
In pop culture
* "I Sing the Body Electric" was used by author
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...
as the title of both a 1969 short story and the book it appeared in (''
I Sing the Body Electric!'').
* Prior to his book, Bradbury used the title of "I Sing the Body Electric" for a
1962 episode he wrote for ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
''.
* ''
I Sing the Body Electric'' was the second album released by the Jazz Fusion band
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocali ...
in 1972.
* In the 1980 film
''Fame'', the students sing a song called "I Sing the Body Electric," inspired by this poem, at their graduation ceremony.
* "Body Electric" is a song by the
Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...
appearing in their 1982 album
Some Girls Wander By Mistake
''Some Girls Wander by Mistake'' is a compilation album by English band the Sisters of Mercy, released on 27 April 1992 on their own label Merciful Release, distributed by East West/ Warner Music UK.
The album collected the complete and uned ...
.
* The song "The Body Electric" appears on the album
Grace Under Pressure by the Canadian progressive rock group
Rush released April 12, 1984.
*In the 1988 movie Bull Durham, Susan Sarandon's character reads the poem "I Sing the Body Electric" to Tim Robbins' character.
*In the 1988 book
The Satanic Verses
''The Satanic Verses'' is the fourth novel of British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie. First published in September 1988, the book was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism ...
, the poem is alluded to on page 405 when a character (Joshi) writes a poem called “I sing the Body Eclectic”.
* The 1995 book "I Sing the Body Electronic", by Fred Moody, chronicles
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
's push into multimedia.
* American singer
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent ...
references Walt Whitman and ''Leaves of Grass'' in her song "
Body Electric Body Electric may refer to: Literature
* ''The Body Electric'', a 1985 book on bioelectromagnetism co-authored by Robert O. Becker
* ''The Body Electric'', a 1979 book on Kirlian photography by Thelma Moss
* ''The Body Electric'', a 2002 book on ...
", from her EP ''
Paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
'' (2012). She also quotes some verses from the poem in her short film ''
Tropico'' (2013).
[Cooper, Duncan. 6 December 2013.]
Why Did Lana Del Rey Make a 30-Minute Video About God, and What Does It Mean for Me?
''The Fader
''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes.
It is o ...
''.
*The group Miracle Musical released the song “The Mind Electric” on the album ''Hawaii: Part II'' (2012).
*
Icarus
In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...
released the album ''I Tweet the Birdy Electric'' in 2004.
* "Sing the Body Electric" a song by Astrid Williamson from the album 'Here come the Vikings'
References
External links
*
1855 poems
Poetry by Walt Whitman
{{US-poem-stub