by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Death, thy servant, is at my door
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Available translation(s): GER
Death, thy servant, is at my door. He has crossed the unknown sea and brought thy call to my home. The night is dark and my heart is fearful -- yet I will take up the lamp, open my gates and bow to him my welcome. It is thy messenger who stands at my door. I will worship him with folded hands, and with tears. I worship him placing at his feet the treasure of my heart. He will go back with his errand done, leaving a dark shadow on my morning; and in my desolate home only my forlorn self will remain as my last offering to thee.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 86, 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. 86 [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 Masters van Someren-Godfery (d. 1947), "Death, thy servant", 1950? [sung text not yet checked]
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. 86 ; composed by Alfredo Casella.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Thomas F. Schubert (b. 1961) , copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [an adaptation] ; composed by Thomas F. Schubert.
- Also set in Spanish (Español), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Manuel M. Ponce.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Thomas F. Schubert) , copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [an adaptation]
- 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: 2008-07-04
Line count: 13
Word count: 108