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The morning sea of silence broke into ripples of bird songs; and the flowers were all merry by the roadside; and the wealth of gold was scattered through the rift of the clouds while we busily went on our way and paid no heed. We sang no glad songs nor played; we went not to the village for barter; we spoke not a word nor smiled; we lingered not on the way. We quickened our pave more and more as the time sped by. The sun rose to the mid sky and doves cooed in the shade. Withered leaves danced and whirled in the hot air of noon. The shepherd boy drowsed and dreamed in the shadow of the banyan tree, and I laid myself down by the water and stretched my tired limbs on the grass. My companions laughed at me in scorn; they held their heads high and hurried on; they never looked back nor rested; they vanished in the distant blue haze. They crossed many meadows and hills, and passed through strange, far-away countries. All honour to you, heroic host of the interminable path! Mockery and reproach pricked me to rise, but found no response in me. I gave myself up for lost in the depth of a glad humiliation - in the shadow of a dim delight. The repose of the sun-embroidered green gloom slowly spread over my heart. I forgot for what I had travelled, and I surrendered my mind without struggle to the maze of shadows and songs. At last, when I woke from my slumber and opened my eyes, I saw thee standing by me, flooding my sleep with thy smile. How I had feared that the path was long and wearisome, and the struggle to reach thee was hard!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 48, first published 1912 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 48 [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-03
Line count: 38
Word count: 297
Der Vögel Lied schuf kleine Wellen im stillen, glatten, morgendlichen Meer; und alle Blumen schauten fröhlich drein am Wegesrand; durch das Gewölk floss reiches Gold herab, derweil wir emsig unsrer Wege gingen, all dies nicht achtend. Kein frohes Lied kam über unsre Lippen, noch spielten wir; wir gingen nicht ins Dorf zu tauschen und zu handeln; wir blieben stumm und ernst, verweilten nicht am Weg. Und unsre Schritte eilten mit im schnellen Takt der Zeit. Die Sonne stieg zum Mittagsstande auf. Im Schatten gurrten Tauben. In heißen Mittagslüften tanzten wirbelnd welke Blätter. Im Schlummer lag der Hirtenknab und träumte in des Banyanbaumes Schatten; ich legte mich zur Ruh am Wasser, die müden Glieder dehnte ich im Gras. Die mit mir gingen, lachten höhnisch über mich; erhob’nen Hauptes eilten sie dann weiter, und schauten nie zurück, noch ruhten sie sich aus; im fernen dunst’gen Blau entschwanden sie. Sie querten Gras- und Hügelland, durchzogen fremde, ferne Länder. Dir alle Ehr, du Heldenschar auf endlos langem Pfad! Hohn und Tadel stachen mich: „Steh auf!“; doch folgt’ ich ihnen nicht. Ich ließ mich fallen, in den Tiefen froher Schmach verloren - im Schatten matter Freude. Mein Herz ward mehr und mehr erfüllt mit dieser Ruhe sonnenlichtgesäumten Dämmergrüns. Ich wusste nicht mehr, was mich reisen ließ, und ohne Kampf ergab mein Geist dem Labyrinth der Schatten sich und den verwob’nen Liedern. Und als am Ende ich erwacht aus meinem Schlummer und schlug die Augen auf, da sah ich dich an meiner Seit’: Du tränktest meinen Schlaf mit deinem Lächeln. Wie groß war meine Furcht gewesen vor dem mühsam langen Weg und vor dem harten Kampf, dich zu erreichen!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2014 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann.  Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 48, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 48 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-06-11
Line count: 38
Word count: 273