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by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

The day was when I did not keep myself
Language: English  after the Bangla (Bengali) 
Our translations:  GER
The day was when I did not keep myself 
in readiness for thee; 
and entering my heart unbidden 
even as one of the common crowd, 
unknown to me, my king, 
thou didst press the signet of eternity 
upon many a fleeting moment of my life.

And today when by chance 
I light upon them and see thy signature, 
I find they have lain scattered 
in the dust mixed with the memory 
of joys and sorrows of my trivial days forgotten.

Thou didst not turn in contempt 
from my childish play among dust, 
and the steps that I heard 
in my playroom are the same 
that are echoing from star to star.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 43, 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), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 43 [text unavailable]
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Aleidus Coenen.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Claus Ogermann.
    • Go to the text.

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

  • 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: 2005-01-17
Line count: 17
Word count: 111

An jenem Tage, als ich mich nicht hielt
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English 
An jenem Tage, als ich mich nicht hielt 
für dich bereit,
da tratst du ungebeten in mein Herz,
gerade so, als wärest du, mein König, irgendwer,
mir gänzlich unbekannt, 
und drücktest auf manch flücht’ge Augenblicke meines Seins
das Siegel deiner Ewigkeit.

Und heute, als durch Zufall ich sie wieder schau
mit deinem Zeichen,
da find ich sie verstreut im Staube, 
verwoben mit Erinnerung
an Freud und Leid vergess’ner, nicht’ger Tage. 

Doch wandtest du dich nicht verächtlich ab
von mir, der kindisch spielt’ im Staube!
Und diese Schritte, 
die beim Spiel ich hörte,
es sind jene, die da hallen fern von Stern zu Stern.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2014 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.

    Bertram Kottmann.  Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de

    If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 43, first published 1912
    • Go to the text page.

Based on:

  • a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 43 [text unavailable]
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2014-05-30
Line count: 17
Word count: 103

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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