I asked nothing from thee
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
I asked nothing from thee;
I uttered not my name to thine ear.
When thou took'st thy leave I stood silent.
I was alone by the well
where the shadow of the tree fell aslant,
and the women had gone home
with their brown earthen pitchers full to the brim.
They called me and shouted,
'Come with us, the morning is wearing on to noon.'
But I languidly lingered awhile
lost in the midst of vague musings.
I heard not thy steps as thou camest.
Thine eyes were sad when they fell on me;
thy voice was tired as thou spokest low -
'Ah, I am a thirsty traveller.'
I started up from my day-dreams
and poured water from my jar
on thy joined palms.
The leaves rustled overhead;
the cuckoo sang from the unseen dark,
and perfume of babla flowers
came from the bend of the road.
I stood speecess with shame
when my name thou didst ask.
Indeed, what had I done for thee
to keep me in remembrance?
But the memory that I could give water to thee
to allay thy thirst will cling to my heart
and enfold it in sweetness.
The morning hour is late,
the bird sings in weary notes,
neem leaves rustle overhead
and I sit and think and think.
Translation(s): DUT FRE GER
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Submitted by Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Authorship
Based on
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
Settings in other languages:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951) , no title, from Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), published 1914 ENG GER DUT by Elsa Barraine.
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , title unknown ENG GER FRE by Frans Louis Wiemans.
Other available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable): - GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , title 1: "Das welterfüllende Licht", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Text added to the website: 2010-11-03.
Last modified: 2014-06-23 16:31:51
Line count: 33
Word count: 217
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Das welterfüllende Licht
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Nichts habe ich von dir erbeten,
und meinen Namen bracht’ ich dir nicht zu Gehör.
Als du nahmst Abschied von mir, stand ich stumm.
Ich war allein am Brunnen,
auf den ein Baum quer seinen Schatten wirft.
Die Frauen waren schon nach Haus gegangen
mit ihren braunen, irdnen Krügen bis zum Rand gefüllt.
Laut riefen sie mir zu:
„Komm mit uns! Der Morgen schreitet auf den Mittag zu.“
Doch ich verweilte träg
in unbestimmter Grübelei verloren.
Ich hörte deinen Schritt nicht, als du nahtest.
Dein Blick war traurig,
als er auf mich fiel,
und deine Stimme müde, als du leise sprachst:
„Ein durst’ger Wand’rer bin ich, ach.“
Ich fuhr aus meinem Tagtraum hoch,
und über deine Hände goss ich Wasser aus dem Krug.
Ein Säuseln über uns im Laub;
der Kuckuck sang im dunklen Hain verborgen,
der Duft der Bablablüten kam von dorther,
wo der Weg sich krümmt.
Beschämt und sprachlos stand ich,
als nach meinem Namen du mich fragtest.
Was hatt’ ich denn für dich getan,
dass meiner du gedenkst?
Doch die Erinn’rung, dass ich dir konnt’ Wasser geben,
zu stillen deinen Durst,
wird sich ins Herz mir schmiegen und liebreich es umfangen.
Es ist schon spät am Morgen,
ermattet singt der Vogel,
das Laub des Niembaums säuselt über mir,
ich sitz’ und sinne, sinne.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.
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 at lieder dot net)
Based on
Based on
Text added to the website: 2014-06-23.
Last modified: 2014-06-23 16:34:03
Line count: 33
Word count: 216
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