by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Why are those tears in your eyes, my...
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Why are those tears in your eyes, my child? How horrid of them to be always scolding you for nothing. You have stained your fingers and face with ink while writing -- Is that why they call you dirty? O, fie! Would they dare to call the full moon dirty because it has smudged its face with ink? For every little trifle they blame you, my child. They are ready to find fault for nothing. You tore your clothes while playing -- Is that why they call you untidy? O, fie! What would they call an autumn morning that smiles through its ragged clouds? Take no heed of what they say to you, my child. Take no heed of what they say to you, my child. They make a long list of your [misdeeds]1. Everybody knows how you love sweet things -- Is that why they call you greedy? O, fie! What [then]2 would they call us who love you?
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Gompel: "misdeeds, my child."
2 omitted by Gompel.
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), "Defamation", appears in The Crescent Moon, no. 10, 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 Frank van Gompel (b. 1965), "Why are those tears in your eyes my child?", op. 33 no. 3, published 2001 [ baritone, violoncello ], from Three Songs for Bariton and Cello, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974), "Defamation", op. 36 no. 2 (1916), published 1923, first performed 1919 [ high voice and piano ], from Child Poems, no. 2, Éd. Composers Music Corporation [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-17
Line count: 18
Word count: 160