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The sleep that flits on baby's eyes - does anybody know from where it comes? Yes, there is a rumour that it has its dwelling where, in the fairy village among shadows of the forest dimly lit with glow-worms, there hang two timid buds of enchantment. From there it comes to kiss baby's eyes. The smile that flickers on baby's lips when he sleeps - does anybody know where it was born? Yes, there is a rumour that a young pale beam of a crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born in the dream of a dew-washed morning - the smile that flickers on baby's lips when he sleeps. The sweet, soft freshness that blooms on baby's limbs - does anybody know where it was hidden so long? Yes, when the mother was a young girl it lay pervading her heart in tender and silent mystery of love - the sweet, soft freshness that has bloomed on baby's limbs.
J. Carpenter sets stanza 1
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 61, 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. 61 [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 John Alden Carpenter (1876 - 1951), no title, alternate title: "The sleep that flits on baby's eyes", published 1914, stanza 1 [ voice and piano ], from Gitanjali (Song Offerings), no. 3, New York, G. Schirmer [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Fitz Rogers (b. 1963), "The sleep that flits on baby's eyes", 2008 [ soprano and piano ], from Songs of Time and Tide, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Wegren , "Infant's secret", 1994 [ tenor, piano, and cassette tape ], from Songs of Gitanjali, no. 8, note: this is a placeholder until it can be determined which text was employed for this setting [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Marie Luise Gothein (1863 - 1931) ; composed by Jan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse, Ján Móry.
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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 164
Schlaf, der sacht auf Kinderaugen huscht - weiß man, woher er kommt? Man sagt, er wohne, wo im Dorf der Feen im Waldesschatten, schwach von Glühwürmchen erhellt, zwei zarte Zauberknospen sprießen. Dort kommt er her, des Kindes Aug zu küssen. Das Lächeln, das des Kindes Mund umspielt, wenn tief es schläft, weiß man, woher es kommt? Man sagt, ein junger bleicher Strahl des Sichelmondes rührte am Rande einer flücht’gen Herbsteswolke, und dort kam dieses Lächeln in die Welt im Traume eines taubenetzten Morgens - das Lächeln auf des Kindes Mund, wenn tief es schläft. Die lieblich sanfte Frische, die Kindes Leib umblüht - weiß man, wo sie so lange sich verbarg? Ja, als die Mutter noch ein Mädchen war, erfüllte sie ihr Herz als stilles, zärtliches Mysterium der Liebe - die lieblich sanfte Frische, die Kindes Leib umblüht.
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. 61, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 61 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-02
Line count: 20
Word count: 134