by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Frederik van Eeden (1860 - 1932)
Life of my life
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure, knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs. I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts, knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind. I shall ever try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower, knowing that thou hast thy seat in the inmost shrine of my heart. And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions, knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 4, 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. 4 [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 Landon Ronald, Sir (1873 - 1938), "Life of my life, I shall ever try", 1920 [ high voice and piano ], from Four Song Offerings - 2nd series, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Frederik van Eeden) , no title
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Vie de ma vie, j'essaierai toujours de garder pur mon corps", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Gebet", 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: 18
Word count: 104
Leven van mijn leven!
Language: Dutch (Nederlands) after the English
Leven van mijn leven! mijn lichaam zal ik altijd trachten rein te houden, daar ik weet dat uw levende aanraking op al mijn leden is. Uit mijn gedachten zal ik alle onwaarheden trachten weg te houden, wetend dat Gij die waarheid zijt, die in mijn geest het licht der rede heeft ontstoken. Ik zal immer trachten alle boosheid van mijn hart te verdrijven en mijn liefde in bloei te houden, wetend dat Gij woont in het binnenste heiligdom van mijn hart. En het zal mijn toeleg zijn U in al mijn daden te openbaren, daar ik weet dat het uw macht is, die mij kracht tot handelen geeft.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Frederik van Eeden (1860 - 1932), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 4, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 4 [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 ]
Researcher for this page: Harry Joelson
This text was added to the website: 2023-08-03
Line count: 18
Word count: 108