Simple as a song | Hands cling to hands and eyes linger on eyes

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Hands cling to hands and eyes linger on...

Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)

Our translations: FRE GER

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]
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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.
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Also set in Portuguese (Português), a translation by Plácido Barbosa [an adaptation] ; composed by Alberto Nepomuceno.
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Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov.
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Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , excerpt [an adaptation] ; composed by Erkki Gustaf Melartin.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-01-17
Line count: 27
Word count: 210