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When my play was with thee I never questioned who thou wert. I knew nor shyness nor fear, my life was boisterous. In the early morning thou wouldst call me from my sleep like my own comrade and lead me running from glade to glade. On those days I never cared to know the meaning of songs thou sangest to me. Only my voice took up the tunes, and my heart danced in their cadence. Now, when the playtime is over, what is this sudden sight that is come upon me? The world with eyes bent upon thy feet stands in awe with all its silent stars.
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Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 97, 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. 97 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
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: 15
Word count: 107
Als ich mit dir im Spiel des Lebens, da fragt’ ich nie, wer du wohl bist. Ich kannte weder Scheu noch Furcht. unbändig war mein Leben. Wie ein Gefährte wecktest du vom Schlaf mich in der Morgenfrüh und führtest mich von lichtem Ort zu lichtem Ort. Zu jener Zeit mocht’ ich nicht wissen, was du mir sangst in deinem Lied. Nur meine Stimme nahm die Weise auf, in ihrem Rhythmus tanzte mit mein Herz. Nun, da das Spiel ist ausgespielt, was muss ich plötzlich schaun? Die Welt, den Blick auf deinen Fuß gesenkt, bestaunt voll Ehrfurcht dich und mit ihr all die stillen Stern’.
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. 97, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 97 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-21
Line count: 15
Word count: 104