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I know that the day will come when my sight of this earth shall be lost, and life will take its leave in silence, drawing the last curtain over my eyes. Yet stars will watch at night, and morning rise as before, and hours heave like sea waves casting up pleasures and pains. When I think of this end of my moments, the barrier of the moments breaks and I see by the light of death thy world with its careless treasures. Rare is its lowliest seat, rare is its meanest of lives. Things that I longed for in vain and things that I got -- let them pass. Let me but truly possess the things that I ever spurned and overlooked.
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in Gitanjali, no. 92, 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. 92 [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 Josef Alexander (1907 - 1992), "I know that the day will come", 1973 [ soprano, harpsichord, and percussion ], from Gitanjali, no. 8 [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) , first published 1914 ; composed by Stefan Wolpe.
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Andrea Butenschön (1866 - 1948) , first published 1915 ; composed by Edvin Kallstenius.
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
- SWE Swedish (Svenska) (Andrea Butenschön) , first published 1915
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-13
Line count: 18
Word count: 121
Ich weiß, es kommt der Tag, an dem ich diese Erde nicht mehr schau, das Leben Abschied nimmt und stille geht, der letzte Vorhang für mich fällt. Doch die Gestirne halten weiter Wacht zur Nacht, der Morgen zieht herauf wie jeder Morgen, die Stunden wogen auf und ab in Lust und Schmerz. Denk ich an dieses letzte Ende meines Seins, dann birst der Damm der Zeit, und ich versteh’, vom Tod erhellt, dann deine Welt mit ihren nicht’gen Schätzen. Rar ist ihr tiefster Rang rar ist ihr kargstes Leben. Mög all umsonst Ersehntes ziehn und all Erlangtes auch. Lass mich nur wahrlich dies besitzen, was ich bisher verschmäht und übersehn.
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), appears in Gitanjali, no. 92, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 92 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-21
Line count: 18
Word count: 110