If the day is done, if birds sing no more, if the wind has flagged tired, then draw the veil of darkness thick upon me, even as thou hast wrapt the earth with the coverlet of sleep and tenderly closed the petals of the drooping lotus at dusk. From the traveller, whose sack of provisions is empty before the voyage is ended, whose garment is torn and dustladen, whose strength is exhausted, remove shame and poverty, and renew his life like a flower under the cover of thy kindly night.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 24, 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. 24 [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 ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951) , no title, appears in Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), no. 24, first published 1914 ; composed by Gary Bachlund, Jean-Émile-Paul Cras.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Hanns Eisler.
- 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 Spanish (Español), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Manuel M. Ponce.
- 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):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SWE Swedish (Svenska) (Andrea Butenschön) , first published 1915
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-17
Line count: 16
Word count: 90
Om dagen är all, om fåglarna ej längre sjunga, om vinden slappnat av mot afton, sänk då mörkrets flor tätt över mig, så som du också svept jorden i sömnens täcke och ömt slutit lotusblommans blad i skymningen. [... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...]
E. Kallstenius sets stanza 1
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Andrea Butenschön (1866 - 1948), first published 1915 [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 Gitanjali, no. 24, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 24 [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 ]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Edvin Kallstenius (1881 - 1967), no title, op. 32 no. 3 (1944) [ baritone and orchestra ], from cantata Sångoffer, no. 3
Score: IMSLP [external link]
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: 2026-07-28
Line count: 16
Word count: 38