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On the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying, and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded. Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind. That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it seemed to me that is was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion. I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart.
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Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 20, 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. 20, first published 1912 [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 Jeanne M. Boyd (1890 - 1968), "On the day when the lotus bloomed", 1919 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicholas Douty (1870 - 1955), "The lotus", 1917 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- 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: 17
Word count: 109
Am Tag der Lotusblüte, ach, irrte mein Geist umher, und ich erkannt’ es nicht. Mein Korb blieb leer, die Blume unbeachtet. Nur dann und wann befiel mich Traurigkeit, ich schreckte auf aus meinem Traum und spürte einen süßen, eignen Duft im Südwind wehn. Noch ungewiss war diese Süße, doch machte sie mein Herz vor Sehnsucht schwer; es kam mir vor, als wäre es des Sommers ungeduld’ger Atem, der nach Erfüllung sucht. Ich wusste damals nicht, wie nah er war, dass mein er war, dass die vollkommne Süße mir erblüht in meines Herzens Tiefe.
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
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Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 20, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 20, first published 1912 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-04-15
Line count: 17
Word count: 93