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It permeates all, the Past as well as the Present, and it is the grandest triumph of the human intellect." (Walt Whitman, 1166)
In the poem under discussion, we notice how ordinary the language in its meaning. Its simplicity is what makes it comparable to a blue song.
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at 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
For Whitman simplicity of language was very important. He had come to the conclusion that deep down every man thinks and feels the same way. Whether we use very sophisticated language or very simple one, in both cases the feelings expressed are the same. Thus he preferred to use simpler one in order to reach the masses and to make poetry more accessible to everyone. Many might feel that blues is nothing but slang but for Whitman slang had its own power and if it could express sentiments more clearly, he had no problem in borrowing a word or a line from it. He thus said:
slang is] the lawless germinal element, below all words and sentences, and behind all poetry, and proves a certain perennial rankness and protestantism in speech. As the United States inherit by far their most precious...
Considering Language then as some mighty potentate, into the majestic audience-hall of the monarch ever enters a personage like one of Shakespeare's clowns, and takes position there, and plays a part even in the stateliest ceremonies. Such is slang or indirection, an attempt of common humanity to escape from bald literalism, and express itself illimitably, which in pre-historic times gave the start to, and perfected, the whole immense tangle of the old mythology. [Kaplan, 672]
Whitman's simple language in this poem is exactly what blues were famous for. Since blues were essentially African-American music, this poem also contains a touch of folklore in it that connects it with African-American cultural roots.
References
Justin Kaplan, ed., Walt Whitman: Complete Poetry and Collected Prose (New York: Library of America, 1982)
Walt Whitman, "Slang in America," in Walt Whitman: Complete Poetry and Collected Prose, ed. Justin Kaplan (New York: Library of America, 1982), 1166.
Dick Weissman, Blues: The Basics (New York: Routledge, 2004)
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