by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Andrea Butenschön (1866 - 1948)

When thou commandest me to sing
Language: English  after the Bangla (Bengali) 
Our translations:  FRE GER
Choose for Diff
When thou commandest me to sing 
it seems that my heart would break with pride; 
and I look to thy face, 
and tears come to my eyes.

All that is harsh and dissonant in my life 
melts into one sweet harmony - 
and my adoration spreads wings like a glad bird 
on its flight across the sea.

[ ... ]

I touch by the edge of the far-spreading wing 
of my song thy feet 
which I could never aspire to reach.

Drunk with the joy of singing I forget myself 
and call thee friend who art my lord.

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

  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist)
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Quand tu m'ordonnes de chanter", 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: 2010-11-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 114

Language: Swedish (Svenska)  after the English 
När du, min Gud, befaller mig att sjunga,
känns det som skulle mitt hjärta brista av stolthet.
Jag ser upp mot ditt ansikte, 
och i mina ögon komma tårar.

Allt det i mitt liv som är strävhet och missljud,
smälter till en enda ljuvlig harmoni,
och min dyrkan tager vingar
likt en glad fågel över havet.

 ... 

I det vida sprider min visa ut sin vinge;
med dess yttersta spets vidrör den dina fötter,
som jag aldrig kunde drömma om att nå.

Drucken av sjungandets glädje, glömmer jag mig
och kallar dig vän, som är min herre.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,2,4,5 of the original text.

Composition:

    Set to music by Edvin Kallstenius (1881 - 1967), no title, op. 32 no. 1 (1944), stanzas 1,2,4,5 [ baritone and orchestra ], from cantata Sångoffer, no. 1
        Score: IMSLP [external link]

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


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Daphnis [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-07-24
Line count: 16
Word count: 96