Walt Whitman wrote a lot about Lincoln. They were contemporaries, and Lincoln was in New York a lot. They were both photographed by Mathew Brady. When Lincoln was inaugurated, and when he was assassinated, Whitman wrote long pieces about both (I think for the NYT) because he was a journalist as well.
As for what this song is about... What makes a man? Could you tell who he was, or what he did, by what he had in his pockets when he died? Why is it relevant that Whitman was fascinated by train engines? Pay attention to the radiating heat, haloes, etc. Oh, and curtains. And theatres. This song is a lot more meaningful if you know a bit about Lincoln and Whitman and the subtext that they represent as mythic signs (symbols that refer to texts outside the texts, ala Frye).
Walt Whitman wrote a lot about Lincoln. They were contemporaries, and Lincoln was in New York a lot. They were both photographed by Mathew Brady. When Lincoln was inaugurated, and when he was assassinated, Whitman wrote long pieces about both (I think for the NYT) because he was a journalist as well.
As for what this song is about... What makes a man? Could you tell who he was, or what he did, by what he had in his pockets when he died? Why is it relevant that Whitman was fascinated by train engines? Pay attention to the radiating heat, haloes, etc. Oh, and curtains. And theatres. This song is a lot more meaningful if you know a bit about Lincoln and Whitman and the subtext that they represent as mythic signs (symbols that refer to texts outside the texts, ala Frye).