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Hands cling to hands and eyes linger on eyes: thus begins the record of our hearts. It is the moonlit night of March; the sweet smell of henna is in the air; my flute lies on the earth neglected and your garland of flowers in unfinished. This love between you and me is simple as a song. Your veil of the saffron colour makes my eyes drunk. The jasmine wreath that you wove me thrills to my heart like praise. It is a game of giving and withholding, revealing and screening again; some smiles and some little shyness, and some sweet useless struggles. This love between you and me is simple as a song. No mystery beyond the present; no striving for the impossible; no shadow behind the charm; no groping in the depth of the dark. This love between you and me is simple as a song. We do not stray out of all words into the ever silent; we do not raise our hands to the void for things beyond hope. It is enough what we give and we get. We have not crushed the joy to the utmost to wring from it the wine of pain. This love between you and me is simple as a song.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 16, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941) [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 Raymond Hanson (1913 - 1976), "Simple as a song", op. 36 (1956) [ 3 sopranos and organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Jan Śliwiński (1884 - 1950) , no title, appears in Rabindranath Tagore. Der Gärtner, no. 16 ; composed by Hermann Reiter.
- Also set in Portuguese (Português), a translation by Plácido Barbosa [an adaptation] ; composed by Alberto Nepomuceno.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov.
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , excerpt [an adaptation] ; composed by Erkki Gustaf Melartin.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Simple comme une chanson", written 1911, copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Schlicht wie ein Lied", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-17
Line count: 27
Word count: 210
Hand schmiegt sich in Hand und Blick senkt sich in Blick: so hebt die Chronik unsrer Herzen an. Es ist die mondbeglänzte Nacht im März; die Luft erfüllt vom süßen Duft der Mignonette; ich achte meine Flöte auf dem Boden nicht, und unvollendet bleibt dein Blütenkranz. Die Liebe zwischen dir und mir ist schlicht und einfach wie ein Lied. Dein safranfarbner Schleier macht mein Auge trunken, und der Jasmin, den du zum Kranze mir geflochten, lässt wie Lobpreis mein Herz erschauern. Es ist ein Spiel aus geben und entsagen, enthüllen und erneut verbergen; ein Lächeln ist’s, ein wenig Schüchternheit, ein süßes Ringen ohne Sinn. Die Liebe zwischen dir und mir ist schlicht und einfach wie ein Lied. Nichts Heimliches, das jetzt nicht wäre, kein Streben nach Unmöglichem, kein Schatten hinter diesem Zauber, kein Tasten im völligen Dunkeln. Die Liebe zwischen dir und mir ist schlicht und einfach wie ein Lied. Wir verirren uns nicht jenseits der Worte im ewigen Schweigen; Wir recken unsere Hände nicht nach dem Nichts, nach Hoffnungslosem. Genug ist, was wir geben und erhalten. Wir pressen die Wonne nicht bis zum Letzten aus, den Schmerzenswein aus ihr zu keltern. Die Liebe zwischen dir und mir ist schlicht und einfach wie ein Lied.
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 The Gardener, no. 16, first published 1913
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941) [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2014-12-04
Line count: 27
Word count: 205