He came and sat by my side but I woke not. What a cursed sleep it was, O miserable me! He came when the night was still; he had his harp in his hands, and my dreams became resonant with its melodies. Alas, why are my nights all thus lost? Ah, why do I ever miss his sight whose breath touches my sleep?
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 26, 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. 26 [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):
- by Giannis Konstantinidis (1903 - 1984), "The dream", 1924-80, from Songs of Expectation, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Landon Ronald, Sir (1873 - 1938), "He came and sat by my side", 1913 [ voice and piano ], from Four Song Offerings - 1st series, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Margaret Lucy Wilkins (b. 1939), "Dreams, resonant with melodies", op. 35 no. 4 (1981) [ SATB quartet and SATB chorus a cappella ], from Six Song Offerings, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Hans Schouwman.
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- Also set in French (Français), a translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951) , no title, appears in Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), no. 26, first published 1914 ; composed by Gary Bachlund, Jean-Émile-Paul Cras.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Johann Móry.
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- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Franco Alfano.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Yevgeny Ottovich Gunst.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-17
Line count: 10
Word count: 63
À mes côtés, il est venu s'asseoir et je ne me suis pas éveillé. Maudit soit mon sommeil misérable ! Il est venu quand la nuit était paisible ; il avait sa harpe à la main et mes rêves sont devenus tout vibrants de ses mélodies. Hélas ! pourquoi mes nuits toutes ainsi perdues ? Ah ! pourquoi celui dont le souffle touche mon sommeil échappe-t-il toujours à ma vue !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rabîndranâth Tagore. L’Offrande lyrique (Gitanjali). Traduction d'André Gide, Paris, Éditions de la Nouvelle revue française, 1917, pages 75-76.
Authorship:
- by André Gide (1869 - 1951), no title, appears in Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), no. 26, first published 1914 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 26, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 26 [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):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "À mes côtés, il est venu s'asseoir", 2006 [ high voice or medium voice and piano ], from Trois Chansons de Gidé, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jean-Émile-Paul Cras (1879 - 1932), "À mes côtés, il est venu s'asseoir", 1920, published 1921 [ high voice and piano ], from L'offrande lyrique, no. 4, Éd. Rouart Lerolle [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Geoffrey Wieting
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-17
Line count: 9
Word count: 71