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I will deck thee with trophies, garlands of my defeat. It is never in my power to escape unconquered. I surely know my pride will go to the wall, my life will burst its bonds in exceeding pain, and my empty heart will sob out in music like a hollow reed, and the stone will melt in tears. I surely know the hundred petals of a lotus will not remain closed for ever and the secret recess of its honey will be bared. From the blue sky an eye shall gaze upon me and summon me in silence. Nothing will be left for me, nothing whatever, and utter death shall I receive at thy feet.
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Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 98, 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. 98 [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: 13
Word count: 115
Ich werde dich mit Siegeszeichen schmücken, den Kränzen meines Scheiterns. Nie steht’s in meiner Macht, davonzukommen unbesiegt . Ich weiß gewiss, mein Stolz, er bricht, und meines Lebens Banden werden reißen in unbänd’gem Schmerz, mein leeres Herz wird wie ein hohles Rohr aufheulen in Musik; auflösen wird der Stein sich dann in Tränen. Ich weiß gewiss, die hundert Blätter einer Lotusblüt’, sie werden nicht geschlossen sein für alle Zeit, und der verborgne Ort des Nektars wird dann offenbar. Aus blauem Himmel wird ein Aug’ herniederblicken, das stumm mich lädt. Nichts wird mir bleiben, was auch, nichts. Zu deinen Füßen werd’ ich dann empfangen nichts als den Tod.
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. 98, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 98 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-21
Line count: 13
Word count: 107