Ich tauche tief ins Meer der Formen

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by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

I dive down into the depth of the ocean...

Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)

Our translations: GER

I dive down into the depth of the ocean of forms, 
hoping to gain the perfect pearl of the formless.

No more sailing from harbour to harbour 
with this my weather-beaten boat. 
The days are long passed 
when my sport was to be tossed on waves.

And now I am eager 
to die into the deathless.

Into the audience hall by the fathomless abyss 
where swells up the music of toneless strings 
I shall take this harp of my life.

I shall tune it to the notes of forever,
and when it has sobbed out its last utterance, 
lay down my silent harp at the feet of the silent.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 100, 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. 100 [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 ]

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: 2010-11-03
Line count: 14
Word count: 109

Ich tauche tief ins Meer der Formen

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Ich tauche tief ins Meer der Formen,
und hoffe, die vollkommne Perle ohne Form zu finden.

Ich segle nun nicht mehr von Ankerplatz zu Ankerplatz
mit meinem Boot, gegerbt von Wind und Wetter.
Lang ist es her, dass ich 
mit Lust der Wellen Spielball war.

Nun sehn ich mich, hinein 
in die Unsterblichkeit zu sterben.

Ich werd’ die Harfe meines Lebens bei mir haben im Saal 
am Abgrund, bodenlos, 
wo laut und lauter wird ein tonlos’ Saitenspiel.

Ich werd’ sie stimmen auf der Ewigkeiten Ton,
und wenn ihr letzter Ton schluchzend verklungen,
leg ich dem Schweigenden zu Füßen meine Harfe, die nun schweigt.

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. 100, first published 1912
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 100 [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-07-21
Line count: 14
Word count: 103