John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

To Delaware

John Greenleaf Whittier

“To Delaware” as printed in The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895).

John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics Text 249 1895 · historical text
Public domainBalladAmerican song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

Thrice welcome to thy sisters of the East,

To the strong tillers of a rugged home,

With spray-wet locks to Northern winds released,

And hardy feet o’erswept by ocean’s foam;

And to the young nymphs of the golden West,

Whose harvest mantles, fringed with prairie bloom,

Trail in the sunset,—O redeemed and blest,

To the warm welcome of thy sisters come!

Broad Pennsylvania, down her sail-white bay

Shall give thee joy, and Jersey from her plains,

And the great lakes, where echo, free alway,

Moaned never shoreward with the clank of chains,

Shall weave new sun-bows in their tossing spray,

And all their waves keep grateful holiday.

And, smiling on thee through her mountain rains,

Vermont shall bless thee; and the granite peaks,

Verse 2

And vast Katahdin o’er his woods, shall wear

Their snow-crowns brighter in the cold, keen air;

And Massachusetts, with her rugged cheeks

O’errun with grateful tears, shall turn to thee,

When, at thy bidding, the electric wire

Shall tremble northward with its words of fire;

Glory and praise to God! another State is free!

Credits

Written by John Greenleaf Whittier

Words by John Greenleaf Whittier. Historical text published in The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895), “To Delaware”

Every text in this 1895 collected edition is by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), who died more than 133 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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