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On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time. But it is never lost, my lord. Thou hast taken every moment of my life in thine own hands. Hidden in the heart of things thou art nourishing seeds into sprouts, buds into blossoms, and ripening flowers into fruitfulness. I was tired and sleeping on my idle bed and imagined all work had ceased. In the morning I woke up and found my garden full with wonders of flowers.
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Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 81, 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. 81 [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 Andrea Csollány (b. 1964), "On many an idle day", 2004 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Reginald Lindsey Sweet (1885 - 1950?), "On many an idle day", 1919 [ medium voice and piano ], from Tagore Poems, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
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: 2010-11-03
Line count: 14
Word count: 80
An manchem Tag der Muße gedachte kummervoll ich der verlornen Zeit. Doch ist sie nie verloren, Herr. Denn jeden Augenblick in meinem Leben birgst du in deinen Händen. Im Herzen ihres Seins verborgen hegst und ernährst du sie - die Saat zum Sproß, die Knosp’ zur Blüt’, die Blüte zur ergieb’gen Frucht. Müd ruhte ich auf meinem Bett der Muße und wähnte alle Arbeit eingestellt. Als ich am Morgen dann erwachte, entdeckt’ ich meinen Garten voll der Blütenwunder.
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. 81, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 81 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 77