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I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn uselessly roaming in the sky, O my sun ever-glorious! Thy touch has not yet melted my vapour, making me one with thy light, and thus I count months and years separated from thee. If this be thy wish and if this be thy play, then take this fleeting emptiness of mine, paint it with colours, gild it with gold, float it on the wanton wind and spread it in varied wonders. And again, when it shall be thy wish to end this play at night, I shall melt and vanish away in the dark, or it may be in a smile of the white morning, in a coolness of purity transparent.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 80, first published 1912 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 80 [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 Albert Biales (1929 - 2012), "I am like a remnant of a cloud of Autumn", 1982, first performed 1982 [ soprano and orchestra or piano ], from When the Creation Was New, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Alden Carpenter (1876 - 1951), "I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn", alternate title: "I am like a Remnant of a Cloud of Autumn", published 1914 [ voice and piano ], from Gitanjali (Song Offerings), no. 4, New York, G. Schirmer [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Frans Louis Wiemans.
- 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):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Geoffrey Wieting
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 121
Ich bin, was übrig blieb von einer Wolk’, die ohne Sinn am Herbsteshimmel zieht, du meine Sonn’, die ewig strahlt! Ich bin von dir noch nicht ganz aufgelöst, zu einen mich mit deinem Licht, so zähl’ die Monde ich und Jahr’, die ich getrennt von dir. Wenn dies dein Wunsch, wenn dies dein Spiel, dann nimm die flücht’ge Leere mir, gib Farbe ihr, mal sie in Gold, lass tollen sie im Wind und immer wieder neu und wundersam erscheinen. Und wird’s dein Wunsch sein, dieses Spiel des Nachts zu enden, werd’ ich zerrinnen und ins Dunkel gehn, oder vielleicht im Lächeln sein des weißen Morgens, in einer Kühle, gläsern, rein.
About the headline (FAQ)
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
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- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 80, first published 1912
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 80 [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-11
Line count: 15
Word count: 110