Yes, I know, this is nothing but thy love,
O beloved of my heart --
this golden light that dances upon the leaves, 
these idle clouds sailing across the sky, 
this passing breeze leaving 
its coolness upon my forehead.

The morning light has flooded my eyes --
this is thy message to my heart.
Thy face is bent from above, 
thy eyes look down on my eyes, 
and my heart has touched thy feet.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

• by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 59, first published 1912 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

• a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 59 [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 Josef Alexander (1907 - 1992), "Yes, I know", 1973 [ soprano, harpsichord, and percussion ], from Gitanjali, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Landon Ronald, Sir (1873 - 1938), "Yes, I know, this is nothing but thy love", 1920 [ high voice and piano ], from Four Song Offerings - 2nd series, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947), "Light, my light", 1999 [ SATB chorus and string quartet ], from The Golden Harp, no. 4
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Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Frederik van Eeden (1860 - 1932) , no title ; composed by Atma Kenswil, Hans Schouwman, Bernard Zweers.
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• Also set in French (Français), a translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951) , no title, appears in Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), no. 59, first published 1914 ; composed by Gary Bachlund, Jean-Émile-Paul Cras.
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• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Marie Luise Gothein (1863 - 1931) ; composed by Jan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse.
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• Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Franco Alfano.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , 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: 11
Word count: 72