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I had gone a-begging from door to door in the village path, when thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream and I wondered who was this King of all kings! My hopes rose high and methought my evil days were at an end, and I stood waiting for alms to be given unasked and for wealth scattered on all sides in the dust. The chariot stopped where I stood. Thy glance fell on me and thou camest down with a smile. I felt that the luck of my life had come at last. Then of a sudden thou didst hold out thy right hand and say `What hast thou to give to me?' Ah, what a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar to beg! I was confused and stood undecided, and then from my wallet I slowly took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to thee. But how great my surprise when at the day's end I emptied my bag on the floor to find a least little gram of gold among the poor heap. I bitterly wept and wished that I had had the heart to give thee my all.
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Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 50, 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), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 50 [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 ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Jan Pouwels.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Marie Luise Gothein (1863 - 1931) , first published 1914 ; composed by Stefan Wolpe.
Other 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: 2009-11-13
Line count: 25
Word count: 204
Als Bettler ging am Dorfweg ich von Tür zu Tür, als in der Ferne mir erschien dein goldner Wagen gleich einem herrlich schönen Traum. Ich fragte mich, wer dieser König aller Kön’ge sei. Hoch flog die Hoffnung mir, dass meine Unglückszeit vorüber. So stand ich, wartete auf milde Gaben, die unerbeten mir zuteil, und Reichtum, Fülle rings im Staub verstreut. Der Wagen hielt, dort wo ich stand. Es fiel dein Blick auf mich und lächelnd stiegest du herab. Ich spürte, endlich sei mein Lebensglück gekommen. Dann hieltest plötzlich du die Rechte mir entgegen und sprachst: „Hast du denn etwas, m i r zu geben?“ O welch ein königlicher Scherz war dies, dem Bettler bettelnd deine Hand zu halten hin! Ich war verwirrt, stand unentschlossen. Aus meinem Beutel kramte langsam ich das allerkleinste Korn und gab es dir. Wie groß jedoch am Abend mein Erstaunen, als ich den Beutel ausgeleert und in der dürft’gen Habe fand ein kleines Korn aus Gold. Ich weinte bitterlich. Ach hätt' ich doch das Herz gehabt, dir alles hinzugeben.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text 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
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 50, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 50 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-06-13
Line count: 25
Word count: 173