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If you would be busy and fill your pitcher, come, O come to my lake. The water will cling round your feet and babble its secret. The shadow of the coming rain is on the sands, and the clouds hang low upon the blue lines of the trees like the heavy hair above your eyebrows. I know well the rhythm of your steps, they are beating in my heart. Come, O come to my lake, if you must fill your pitcher. If you would be idle and sit listless and let your pitcher float on the water, come, O come to my lake. The grassy slope is green, and the wild flowers beyond number. Your thoughts will stray out of your dark eyes like birds from their nests. Your veil will drop to your feet. Come, O come to my lake if you must sit idle. If you would leave off your play and dive in the water, come, O come to my lake. Let your blue mantle lie on the shore; the blue water will cover you and hide you. The waves will stand a-tiptoe to kiss your neck and whisper in your ears. Come, O come to my lake, if you would dive in the water. If you must be mad and leap to your death, come, O come to my lake. It is cool and fathomlessly deep. It is dark like a sleep that is dreamless. There in its depths nights and days are one, and songs are silence. Come, O come to my lake, if you would plunge to your death.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 12, 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 Ann Marie Callaway (b. 1949), "Come to my lake", 2001 [ soprano, bass, chorus, and piano ], from Songs From the Gardener, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Hanson (1913 - 1976), "If you would be busy", op. 39 no. 3 (1959/60) [ tenor and piano ], from Seven songs from The Gardener , no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-05
Line count: 31
Word count: 265
Wärst du in Eile, deinen Krug zu füllen, dann komme, komm’ an meinen See. Das Wasser wird deine Füße umschmiegen und dir sein Geheimnis murmeln. Der Regen wirft schon seinen Schatten auf den Sand voraus, und das Gewölk hängt tief auf einem blau umriss’nen Blätterdach, so wie dein Haar wallt über deinen Brauen. Den Rhythmus deiner Schritte kenne ich genau, da sie in meinem Herzen pochen. Komme, komm’ an meinen See, wenn deinen Krug du füllen musst. Wärst müßig du und säßest matt und ließest deinen Krug dann auf dem Wasser treiben, so komme, komm’ an meinen See. Sein Uferhang ist grün und übersät von wilden Blumen ohne Zahl. Aus deinen dunkeln Augen wird Gedanke um Gedanke schweifen, wie Vögel aus dem Nest. Dein Schleier wird hinab zu deinen Füßen gleiten. Komme, komm’ an meinen See, wenn du Ruhe suchen musst . Und stelltest du das Spiel des Lebens ein und tauchtest ein ins Wasser, so komme, komm’ an meinen See. Leg deinen blauen Umhang ab am Ufer; das blaue Wasser wird dich hüllend decken. Die Wellen werden auf den Zehenspitzen stehen, um deinen Nacken zu liebkosen und dir ins Ohr zu wispern. Komme, komm’ an meinen See, wenn du einst tauchst ins Wasser. Und musst du irre werden und in den Tod springen, dann komme, komm’ an meinen See. mein See ist kühl und unermesslich tief. Er ist so dunkel wie ein Schlafen ohne Traum. In seinen Tiefen sind Nacht und Tag eins geworden und alle Lieder sind verstummt. Komme, komm’ an meinen See, wenn einst in den Tod du tauchst.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Come to my lake" = "Komm' an meinen See"Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2015 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:
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 12, first published 1913
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941) [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2015-10-27
Line count: 32
Word count: 262