by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Andrea Butenschön (1866 - 1948)
When thou commandest me to sing
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Chosen for Diff
When thou commandest me to sing it seems that my heart would break with pride; and I look to thy face, and tears come to my eyes. All that is harsh and dissonant in my life melts into one sweet harmony - and my adoration spreads wings like a glad bird on its flight across the sea. I know thou takest pleasure in my singing. I know that only as a singer I come before thy presence. I touch by the edge of the far-spreading wing of my song thy feet which I could never aspire to reach. Drunk with the joy of singing I forget myself and call thee friend who art my lord.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 2, 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), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 2 [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 Philip Frederick Wright James (1890 - 1975), "When thou commandest me to sing", 1921?, from Four Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Pieters (b. 1957), "When thou commandest me to sing", 200?, from Gitanjali, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Murray Schafer (b. 1933), "Gitanjali no. 2", 1962 [ soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, and women's chorus ], from Four Songs on Texts by Tagore, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Murray Schafer (b. 1933), "When thou commandest me to sing", 1991 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Gitanjali, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Naresh Sohal (b. 1939), "When thou commandest me to sing", 1985 [ baritone and orchestra ], from From Gitanjali, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rick Sowash (b. 1950), "When thou commandest me to sing", 1976 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Frederik van Eeden (1860 - 1932) , no title ; composed by Aleidus Coenen, Albert De Klerk.
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Jan Pouwels.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Domingo Santa Cruz Wilson.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Dino Menichetti.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Andrea Butenschön (1866 - 1948) , first published 1915 ; composed by Edvin Kallstenius.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist)
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Quand tu m'ordonnes de chanter", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- 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: 2010-11-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 114
När du, min Gud, befaller mig att sjunga
Language: Swedish (Svenska) after the English
Chosen for Diff
När du, min Gud, befaller mig att sjunga, känns det som skulle mitt hjärta brista av stolthet. Jag ser upp mot ditt ansikte, och i mina ögon komma tårar. Allt det i mitt liv som är strävhet och missljud, smälter till en enda ljuvlig harmoni, och min dyrkan tager vingar likt en glad fågel över havet. [... ... ...] I det vida sprider min visa ut sin vinge; med dess yttersta spets vidrör den dina fötter, som jag aldrig kunde drömma om att nå. Drucken av sjungandets glädje, glömmer jag mig och kallar dig vän, som är min herre.
E. Kallstenius sets stanzas 1, 2, 4, 5
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Andrea Butenschön (1866 - 1948), first published 1915 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 2, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 2 [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 Edvin Kallstenius (1881 - 1967), no title, op. 32 no. 1 (1944), stanzas 1,2,4,5 [ baritone and orchestra ], from cantata Sångoffer, no. 1
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (Edvin Kallstenius)
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Edvin Kallstenius)
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Daphnis [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-07-24
Line count: 16
Word count: 96