If thou speakest not I will fill my heart with thy silence and endure it. I will keep still and wait like the night with starry vigil and its head bent low with patience. The morning will surely come, the darkness will vanish, and thy voice pour down in golden streams breaking through the sky. Then thy words will take wing in songs from every one of my birds' nests, and thy melodies will break forth in flowers in all my forest groves.
Four Poems
Song Cycle by Margaret Carter Metcalf (d. 1957)
Translated to:
German (Deutsch) — Vier Gedichte (Bertram Kottmann)
1. If thou speakest not  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 19, 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), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 19 [text unavailable]
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SWE Swedish (Svenska) (Andrea Butenschön) , first published 1915
2. Day after day  [sung text not yet checked]
Day after day, O lord of my life, shall I stand before thee face to face? With folded hands, O lord of all worlds, shall I stand before thee face to face? Under thy great sky in solitude and silence, with humble heart shall I stand before thee face to face? In this laborious world of thine, tumultuous with toil and with struggle, among hurrying crowds shall I stand before thee face to face? And when my work shall be done in this world, O King of kings, alone and speechless shall I stand before thee face to face?
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 76, 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. 76 [text unavailable]
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
3. This autumn morning  [sung text not yet checked]
This autumn morning is tired with excess of light, and if your songs grow fitful and languid give me your flute awhile. I shall but play with it as the whim takes me, -- now take it on my lap, now touch it with my lips, now keep it by my side on the grass. But in the solemn evening stillness I shall gather flowers, to deck it with wreaths, I shall fill it with fragrance; I shall worship it with the lighted lamp. Then at night I shall come to you and give you back your flute. You will play on it the music of midnight when the lonely crescent moon wanders among the stars.
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in Fruit-Gathering, no. 22 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
4. Speak to me, my love!  [sung text not yet checked]
Speak to me, my love! Tell me in words what you sang. The night is dark. The stars are lost in clouds. The wind is sighing through the leaves. I will let loose my hair. My blue cloak will cling round me like [night]1. I will clasp your head to my bosom; And there in the sweet loneliness murmur on your heart. I will shut my eyes and listen. I will not look in your face. When your words are ended, we will sit still and silent. Only the trees will whisper in the dark. The night will pale. The day will dawn. We shall look at each other's eyes and go on our different paths. Speak to me, my love! Tell me in words what you sang.
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 29, first published 1915 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941) [text unavailable]
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Parle-moi, mon amour !", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
1 Bridge: "the night"
Researcher for this text: Ted Perry