“We Two” is a powerful blend of music and poetry; its opening and closing sections, characterized by highly dramatic, declamatory gestures in the voice part and accented, thick chords in the piano part, frame a more expressive central episode employing a lyrical vocal line and harp-like piano figures. Composed in 1946, this version of “We Two” is, curiously, the second song written by Warren with this title; a completely different song of a more consistently lyrical character, based on a text by Corinna D. Dodge, was composed by Warren in 1922.

–Stephanie Poxon, Ph.D.

We Two
by Walt Whitman

Shine! Shine! Shine!
Pour down your warmth, great sun!
While we bask — we two together.

Two together!
Winds blow South or winds blow North,
Day come white, or night come black,
Home or rivers and mountains from home,
Singing all the time, minding no time,
While we two keep together.