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I am here to sing thee songs. In this hall of thine I have a corner seat. In thy world I have no work to do; My useless life can only break out in tunes without a purpose. When the hour strikes for thy silent worship at the dark temple of midnight, command me, my master, to stand before thee to sing. When in the morning air, the golden harp is tuned, honour me, commanding my presence.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 15, 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. 15 [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ralph D'Mello (b. 195?), "Gitanjali", 1999 [ tenor or baritone and clarinet ], from Tagore Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gert Oost (b. 1943), "I am here to sing", 1993 [ soprano, flute, and piano ], from Drie Liederen uit de Wijzangen, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Murray Schafer (b. 1933), "I am here to sing thee songs", 1991 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Gitanjali, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Naresh Sohal (b. 1939), no title, 1999-2002 [ soprano and piano ], from Songs of Desire, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947), "Invocation - I am here to sing thee songs", 1999 [ SATB chorus and string quartet ], from The Golden Harp, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951) , no title, appears in Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), no. 15, Paris, Gallimard, first published 1914 ; composed by Elsa Barraine.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Bertram Kottmann , "Hier bin ich, Lieder dir zu singen", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission ; composed by Gary Bachlund.
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Andrea Butenschön (1866 - 1948) ; composed by Miklós Maros.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Je suis ici pour chanter des chants", copyright © 2013, (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: 12
Word count: 77
Hier bin ich, Lieder dir zu singen. Mein Platz ist in der Ecke deines Saals. In deiner Welt hab ich kein Werk zu tun; mein zwecklos Leben kann sich nur in Tönen zeigen, die ohn’ Zweck. Und schlägt die Stunde, still dich zu verehren Im dunkeln Tempelhaus der Mitternacht, gebiete mir, mein Herr, singend vor dich zu treten. Wenn in der Morgenluft die goldne Harfe wird gestimmt, dann ehre mich mit dem Gebot, vor dich zu treten.
Text Authorship:
- by Bertram Kottmann , "Hier bin ich, Lieder dir zu singen", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 15, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 15 [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Hier bin ich, Lieder dir zu singen", 2015 [mezzo-soprano and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann
This text was added to the website: 2014-04-16
Line count: 11
Word count: 77