by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951)
I must launch out my boat
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Our translations: GER
I must launch out my boat. The languid hours pass by on the shore - Alas for me! The spring has done its flowering and taken leave. And now with the burden of faded futile flowers I wait and linger. The waves have become clamorous, and upon the bank in the shady lane the yellow leaves flutter and fall. What emptiness do you gaze upon! Do you not feel a thrill passing through the air with the notes of the far-away song floating from the other shore?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 21, 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. 21, first published 1912 [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 ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Frederik van Eeden (1860 - 1932) , appears in Wijnzangen ; composed by Jeanne Beijerman-Walraven.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951) , appears in Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), no. 21 ; composed by Henriette Puig-Roget.
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
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-03
Line count: 13
Word count: 86
Absence
Language: French (Français) after the English
Est-il temps de lancer ma barque ?
Les languissantes heures s’écoulent sur la plage —
hélas pour moi !
Le printemps a donné sa floraison puis dit adieu.
Et maintenant, chargé de vaines fleurs fanées,
j’attends et m’attarde.
Les vagues sont devenues bruyantes ;
au delà de la berge, dans le sentier plein d’ombre,
les feuilles jaunes palpitent et tombent.
Quelle absence contemples-tu ?
Ne sens-tu pas un frémissement traverser l’air,
avec le chant lointain
qui monte et fuit de l’autre plage.
Text Authorship:
- by André Gide (1869 - 1951), appears in Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), no. 21 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 21, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 21, first published 1912 [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 Henriette Puig-Roget (1910 - 1992), "Absence" [ voice and piano ], from Douze mélodies sur des poèmes de l'Offrande lyrique de Tagore, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-03-30
Line count: 13
Word count: 78