Songs unsung | The song that I came to sing

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

The song that I came to sing

Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)

Our translations: FRE GER

The song that I came to sing 
remains unsung to this day. 
I have spent my days in stringing 
and in unstringing my instrument.

The time has not come true, 
the words have not been rightly set; 
only there is the agony 
of wishing in my heart.

The blossom has not opened; 
only the wind is sighing by. 
I have not seen his face, 
nor have I listened to his voice; 
only I have heard his gentle footsteps 
from the road before my house.

The livelong day has passed 
in spreading his seat on the floor; 
but the lamp has not been lit 
and I cannot ask him into my house.

I live in the hope of meeting with him; 
but this meeting is not yet.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 13, 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. 13, first published 1912 [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Peter Blauvelt (b. 1957), "The song that I came to sing", 1991-2 [ mezzo-soprano, clarinet, trombone, contrabass, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Mary Williams Campbell (1899 - 1985), "Songs unsung", 1950 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Naresh Sohal (b. 1939), "The unsung song", 1993 [ alto and instrumental ensemble ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Andrea Butenschön (1866 - 1948) , first published 1915 ; composed by Edvin Kallstenius.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

SWE Swedish (Svenska) (Andrea Butenschön) , first published 1915

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-11-03
Line count: 20
Word count: 126