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by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

When the two sisters go to fetch water
Language: English  after the Bangla (Bengali) 
When the two sisters go to fetch water,
they come to this spot and they smile.
They must be aware of somebody
who stands behind the trees
whenever they go to fetch water.

The two sisters whisper to each other
when they pass this spot.
They must have guessed the secret
of that somebody who stands behind the trees
whenever they go to fetch water.

Their pitchers lurch suddenly, and water spills
when they reach this spot.
They must have found out that somebody's heart is beating,
who stands behind the trees
whenever they go to fetch water.

The two sisters glance at each other
when they come to this spot, and they smile.
There is a laughter in their swift stepping feet,
which makes confusion in somebody's mind,
who stands behind the trees
whenever they go to fetch water.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 18, 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]
    • 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):

  • by Karim Adam Al-Zand (b. 1970), "When the two sisters go to fetch water", 2004 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Tagore Love Songs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Karim Adam Al-Zand (b. 1970), "When the two sisters go to fetch water", 2004 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from The Secret of your Heart, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Richard Hageman (1881 - 1966), "At the well", 1919 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 140

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