by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Jan Śliwiński (1884 - 1950), as Hans Effenberger
O mother, the young Prince is to pass by...
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Our translations: FRE
[ ... ]
O mother, the young Prince did pass by our door,
and the morning sun flashed from his chariot.
I swept aside the veil from my face,
I tore the ruby chain from my neck
and flung it in his path.
Why do you look at me amazed, mother?
I know well he did not pick up my chain;
I know it was crushed under his wheels
leaving a red stain upon the dust,
and no one knows what my gift was nor to whom.
But the young Prince did pass by our door,
and I flung the jewel from my breast before his path.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 7, first published 1913
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941) [text unavailable]
Go to the general single-text view
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Ô mère, le jeune Prince doit passer", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Rudolf Hirsch) , no title, appears in Irrgarten der Liebe
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-05
Line count: 23
Word count: 207
Der junge Prinz II See base text
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Our translations: ITA
... O Mutter, der junge Prinz ist an unsrer Türe vorüberkommen, Und die Morgensonne blitzte auf an seinem Wagen. Ich strich den Schleier aus meinem Gesicht, Riß die Rubinenkette von meinem Halse und warf sie ihm in den Weg. Warum schaust du mich so verwundert an, Mutter? Ich weiß wohl, daß er meine Kette nicht aufhob. Ich weiß, sie ward unter den Rädern zermalmt Und ließ eine rote Spur im Staube zurück. Und niemand weiß, was mein Geschenk war, noch wem es galt. Aber der junge Prinz kam an unsrer Tür vorüber Und ich habe ihm den Schmuck von meiner Brust ... in den Weg geworfen.
Composition:
- Set to music by Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1882 - 1937), "Der junge Prinz II", op. 41 no. 3 (1918), stanza 2 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vier Gesänge (Cztery pieśni), no. 3, also set in Polish (Polski)
Text Authorship:
- by Jan Śliwiński (1884 - 1950), as Hans Effenberger, appears in Rabindranath Tagore. Der Gärtner, no. 7, first published 1916
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 7, 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):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Madre, il giovane principe", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-20
Line count: 23
Word count: 215