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by Abū-Muḥammad Muṣliḥ al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī (c1210 - c1292), as Saadi
Translation by Edwin Arnold (1832 - 1904)

Eyes softly bold!
Language: English  after the Persian (Farsi) 
Eyes softly bold!
Bodice bound with gold!
Girdle clasping what love would enfold!
Light glancing feet
Which meet -- part -- and meet!
Dancing, dancing the measure sad and sweet:
Dance, dance still!
Dance, if you will,
All the night long as the slow stars dance!
All the night long
I would hear your Indian song,
And watch you, dark Star! in a trance.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Edwin Arnold (1832 - 1904), no title, appears in The Book of Love: Being The "Ishk" or Third Chapter of The "Bostcan" of the Persian Poet Sa'di: Embodied in a Dialogue Held in the Garden of The Taj Mahal, at Agra [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Persian (Farsi) by Abū-Muḥammad Muṣliḥ al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī (c1210 - c1292), as Saadi [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 Frederic Hymen Cowen, Sir (1852 - 1935), "The Nautch Girl's Song", published 1898 [ voice and piano ], from Third Set of Six Songs, London: Joseph Williams [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-04-08
Line count: 12
Word count: 62

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