One morning in the flower garden a blind girl came to offer me a flower chain in the cover of a lotus leaf. I put it round my neck, and tears came to my eyes. I kissed her and said, "You are blind even as the flowers are. "You yourself know not how beautiful is your gift."
Songs of Love and Life
Song Cycle by (Charles William) Eric Fogg (1903 - 1939)
1. One morning in the flower garden  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 58, first published 1915
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941) [text unavailable]
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]2. It was in May  [sung text not yet checked]
It was in May. The sultry noon seemed endlessly long. The dry earth gaped with thirst in the heat. When I heard from the riverside a voice calling, "Come, my darling!" I shut my book and opened the window to look out. I saw a big buffalo with mud-stained hide, standing near the river with placid, patient eyes; and a youth, knee deep in water, calling it to its bath. I smiled amused and felt a touch of sweetness in my heart.
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 78
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941) [text unavailable]
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]3. In the dusky path of a dream  [sung text not yet checked]
In the dusky path of a dream I went to seek the love who was mine in a former life. Her house stood at the end of a desolate street. In the evening breeze her pet peacock sat drowsing on its perch, and the pigeons were silent in their corner. She set her lamp down by the portal and stood before me. She raised her large eyes to my face and mutely asked, "Are you well, my friend?" I tried to answer, but our language had been lost and forgotten. I thought and thought; our names would not come to my mind. Tears shone in her eyes. She held up her right hand to me. I took it and stood silent. Out lamp had flickered in the evening breeze and died.
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 62
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941) [text unavailable]
Go to the single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]4. Peace  [sung text not yet checked]
Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet. Let it not be a death but completeness. Let love melt into memory and pain into songs. Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest. Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night. Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence. I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way.
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 61, first published 1913
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) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
5. Free me from the bonds of your sweetness  [sung text not yet checked]
Free me from the bonds of your sweetness, my love! No more of this wine of kisses. This mist of heavy incense stifles my heart. Open the doors, make room for the morning light. I am lost in you, wrapped in the folds of your caresses. Free me from your spells, and give me back the manhood to offer you my freed heart.
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 48, first published 1915
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) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Löse mich aus den Fesseln deiner Süße, meine Geliebte!", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission