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by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

[No title]
 (Sung text for setting by N. Sohal)
 See original
Language: English  after the Bangla (Bengali) 
Our translations:  FRE GER
My desires are many and my cry is pitiful,
but ever didst thou save me by hard refusals;
and this strong mercy has been wrought into my life 
through and through.

Day by day thou art making me worthy of the simple,
great gifts that thou gavest to me unasked;
this sky and the light, this body, this life and this mind
saving me from perils of overmuch desire.

There are times when I languidly linger
and times when I awaken and hurry to search of my goal;
but cruelly thou hidest thyself from before me.

Day by day thou art making me worthy of thy full acceptance
by refusing me ever and anon,
saving me from perils of weak, uncertain desire.

Composition:

    Set to music by Naresh Sohal (b. 1939), no title, 1999, first performed 1999 [ soprano and piano ], from Songs of Desire, no. 1

Text Authorship:

  • by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 14, first published 1912

Based on:

  • a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 14 [text unavailable]
    • Go to the text page.

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Mes désirs sont nombreux et mon cri fait pitié", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • 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: 2010-01-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 125

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