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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
Le jour où le lotus a fleuri mes pensée s'étaient hélas égarées et je ne le savais pas. Mon panier était vide et les fleurs laissées sans soin. Mais de temps à autre une tristesse s'abattait sur moi, je sortis de mon rêve et sentis la douce trace d'une étrange fragrance dans le vent du sud. Cette vague douceur blessa mon cœur d'un impatient désir et il me sembla que c'était la respiration passionnée de l'été à la recherche de son accomplissement. Je ne savais pas alors qu'elle était si près, que c'était la mienne, et que cette douceur parfaite avait éclos dans les profondeurs de mon propre cœur.
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Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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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: 2014-06-29
Line count: 17
Word count: 109