by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Rudolf Hirsch (1816 - 1872)
O mother, the young Prince is to pass by...
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Our translations: FRE
O mother, the young Prince is to pass by our door, -- how can I attend to my work this morning? Show me how to braid up my hair; tell me what garment to put on. Why do you look at me amazed, mother? I know well he will not glance up once at my window; I know he will pass out of my sight in the twinkling of an eye; only the vanishing strain of the flute will come sobbing to me from afar. But the young Prince will pass by our door, and I will put on my best for the moment. O mother, the young Prince did pass by our door, and the morning sun flashed from his chariot. I swept aside the veil from my face, I tore the ruby chain from my neck and flung it in his path. Why do you look at me amazed, mother? I know well he did not pick up my chain; I know it was crushed under his wheels leaving a red stain upon the dust, and no one knows what my gift was nor to whom. But the young Prince did pass by our door, and I flung the jewel from my breast before his path.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 7, 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 Arthur Koerner (1876 - 19??), "O mother, the young Prince is to pass by", 1917, from Spoken Songs, no. 3 [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. 7, first published 1916 ; composed by Jan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse, Willem de Haan, Karol Maciej Szymanowski, Alexander Zemlinsky.
- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Franco Alfano.
- Also set in Polish (Polski), a translation by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1894 - 1980) ; composed by Karol Maciej Szymanowski.
- Also set in Spanish (Español), a translation by Zenobia Camprubí Aymar (c1887 - 1956) , appears in Obras de Rabindranath Tagore: El jardinero, first published 1917 ; composed by Juan José Castro.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Ô mère, le jeune Prince doit passer", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Rudolf Hirsch) , no title, appears in Irrgarten der Liebe
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-05
Line count: 23
Word count: 207
O Mutter, der junge Prinz muß an unsrer...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
O Mutter, der junge Prinz muß an unsrer Tür vorüberkommen — wie kann ich heute Morgen an meine Arbeit denken? Zeig mir, wie soll ich mein Haar flechten; sag mir, was soll ich für Kleider anlegen? Warum schaust Du mich so verwundert an, Mutter? Ich weiß wohl, er wird nicht ein einziges Mal zu meinem Fenster aufblicken; ich weiß, im Nu wird er mir aus den Augen sein; nur das verhallende Flötenspiel wird seufzend zu mir dringen von weitem. Aber der junge Prinz wird an unsrer Tür vorüberkommen, und ich will mein Bestes anziehn für diesen Augenblick. O Mutter, der junge Prinz ist an unsrer Tür vorübergekommen, und die Morgensonne blitzte auf an seinem Wagen. Ich strich den Schleier aus meinem Gesicht, riß die Rubinenkette von meinem Halse und warf sie ihm in den Weg. Warum schaust Du mich so verwundert an, Mutter? Ich weiß wohl, daß er meine Kette nicht aufhob; ich weiß, sie ward unter den Rädern zermalmt und ließ eine rote Spur im Staube zurück, und niemand weiß, was mein Geschenk war, noch wem es galt. Aber der junge Prinz ist an unsrer Tür vorübergekommen, und ich habe den Schmuck von meiner Brust auf seinen Pfad geworfen.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Irrgarten der Liebe von R. Hirsch, Sechste Auflage, Wien, Verlag von F. Hügel, 1856, pages 56-57.
Text Authorship:
- by Rudolf Hirsch (1816 - 1872), no title, appears in Irrgarten der Liebe [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 7, first published 1913
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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2023-02-17
Line count: 23
Word count: 200