When I go alone at night to my love-tryst, birds do not sing, the wind does not stir, the houses on both sides of the street stand silent. It is my own anklets that grow loud at every step and I am ashamed. When I sit on my balcony and listen for his footsteps, leaves do not rustle on the trees, and the water is still in the river like the sword on the knees of a sentry fallen asleep. It is my own heart that beats wildly -- I do not know how to quiet it. When my love comes and sits by my side, when my body trembles and my eyelids droop, the night darkens, the wind blows out the lamp, and the clouds draw veils over the stars. It is the jewel at my own breast that shines and gives light. I do not know how to hide it.
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Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in The Gardener, no. 9, 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 Arturo Buzzi-Peccia (1856 - 1943), "When I go alone", 1918 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Jan Śliwiński (1884 - 1950) , no title, appears in Rabindranath Tagore. Der Gärtner, no. 9 ; composed by Jan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Iv. Sabashnikov ; composed by Alexandr Mikhailovich Dzegelenok.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-05
Line count: 18
Word count: 151
Wenn ich nachts zum Stelldichein gehe, singen keine Vögel, der Wind regt sich nicht, die Häuser an beiden Seiten der Straße stehen schweigsam. Nur meine eignen Fußspangen werden laut bei jedem Schritt, und ich schäme mich. Wenn ich auf meinem Balkon sitze und auf seine Schritte lausche, rascheln die Blätter nicht auf den Bäumen, und das Wasser ist still im Fluß wie das Schwert auf den Knien eines schlafenden Wächters. Nur mein eigenes Herz schlägt wild — ich weiß nicht, wie ich es ruhig halten soll. Wenn mein Geliebter kommt und bei mir sitzt, wenn mein Leib zittert und meine Augenlider sich senken, wird die Nacht schwarz, der Wind bläst die Lampe aus, und die Wolken ziehen Schleier über die Sterne. Nur der Edelstein auf meiner eigenen Brust scheint und gibt Licht. Ich weiß nicht, wie ich ihn verbergen soll.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rabindranath Tagor. Der Gärtner. Einzig autorisierte deutsche Ausgabe. Nach der von Rabindranath Tagore selbst veranstalteten englischen Ausgabe ins Deutsche übertragen von Hans Effenberger, München, Kurt Wolff Verlag, 1921, page 18. Note: this is a prose text. Line breaks have been added to make it line up with the English.
Text Authorship:
- by Jan Śliwiński (1884 - 1950), as Hans Effenberger, no title, appears in Rabindranath Tagore. Der Gärtner, no. 9 [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. 9, 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):
- by Jan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse (1881 - 1944), "Wenn ich Nachts zum Stelldichein gehe", 1921 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Drei Gesänge aus Tagore's Der Gärtner, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2022-11-29
Line count: 18
Word count: 140