I am restless | I am restless. I am athirst for far-away things

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

I am restless. I am athirst for far‑away...

Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)

Our translations: FRE GER

I am restless.  I am athirst for far-away things.
My soul goes out in a longing 
to touch the skirt of the dim distance.
O Great Beyond, O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget, 
that I have no wings to fly, 
that I am bound in this spot 
evermore.

I am eager and wakeful, 
I am a stranger in a strange land.
Thy breath comes to me 
whispering an impossible hope.
Thy tongue is known to my heart 
as its very own.
O Far-to-seek, O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget, 
that I know not the way, 
that I have not the winged horse.

I am listless, I am a wanderer in my heart.
In the sunny haze of the languid hours, 
what vast vision of thine takes shape 
in the blue of the sky!
O Farthest end, O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget,
that the gates are shut everywhere in the house 
where I dwell alone!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 5, 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), "I am restless", op. 39 no. 1 (1959/60) [ tenor and piano ], from Seven songs from The Gardener , no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Jan Śliwiński (1884 - 1950) , appears in Rabindranath Tagore. Der Gärtner, no. 5, first published 1916 ; composed by Ján Móry, Alexander Zemlinsky.
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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: 26
Word count: 173