Songs 1912-13
Song জগত জুড়ে উদার সুরে
AH, let it sound in my heart, the music that sounds in the world.
Let the day arise when I may clasp the earth with my love;
When to open the eyes is to be glad and to walk is to shed joy in the air?
When your presence in my life will be full and your name will appear
in all my works, like tints in flowers? *
Song ওহে জীবনবল্লভ
BELOVED, I will not speak to you of my sorrow.
I offer you my heart.
The path has been full of thorns and hard for me, I will walk over it to the end.
I will not sit down to count my smiles and tears and prizes of the world. I will wait for my dues from your hand.
If I have done wrong to you and blackened my life, shower upon me bitter pain till I am pure.
And then when the sun sets and the night is dark, I can come to your open arms.
Song তুমি নব নব রূপে এসো
COME with all forms of perfection in my life ;
with perfume and colour and song!
Come into my body with the touches of gladness,
come into my heart with the surprises of rapture,
come into my eyes in the ecstasy of closed lids!
Thou beauteous peace, appear in all thy dispensations,
in my joys and sorrows, in my world of works,
and in the death where all works end.
Song এই একলা মোদের হাজার মানুষ
His a thousand beings in one, our elder brother.
He is full of merriment and music, our elder brother.
He joins us in our works, he dresses for our feasts.
He is the playmate in our games, our elder brother.
He is in all our meetings, our elder brother.
He is with the party that laughs and knows no care and with them that weep and wail.
He is ready for all our moods, our elder brother.
He brings us home and lives with us, he calls us away into the road.
He is the one who waits at our door our elder brother.
He is the one who sits in our heart, our elder brother.
Song কেন ধরে রাখা ও যে যাবে চলে
HE will not stay. The night is gone.
Open your eyes when dreams are over, blow out the lamp whose flame is dying.
What will these avail you, those withered flowers? The night is gone.
The morning star is pale, the dawn reddens in the east.
Light up your face with a smile and bravely say,
"Go friend, be happy!" Hold him not back with tears. The night is gone.
Song আমরা বসব তোমার সনে
I HAVE my seat by your side I know.
I shall share half of your throne,
King of Kings!
But your gatekeepers know me not— they shut me out in contempt.
And I stand before your gate outside and raise my voice to your window.
Call me in, my Lord!
Another version:
I KNOW that I have my seat by your side.
I know that I shall share half your kingdom.
But the gatekeepers that crowd at the entrance
of your house would not know me, they would
challenge me at every step.
I shall stand before your gate till at the end
of the day you appear on the balcony and
call me by my name and let me in.
Song আমি কী ব'লে করিব নিবেদন
I KNOW not how to place my offerings before you.
Come into my heart, take them up in your hand and make them your own.
They are dust and ashes. Give them the immortal value of your touch and make them worthy of you and accept them.
Song সকাতরে ওই কাঁদিছে সকলে
LISTEN to the cry of your children, father! Speak to them.
They nourish doomed hopes in their anxious hearts, they clasp things that crumble in their eager hands and they know not consolation. Speak to them.
They pursue shadows in the desert waste and when the day wanes they wring their empty hands; they look before them and see nothing. Speak to them.
Song জননী, তোমার করুণ চরণখানি
MOTHER, I have seen your face in the first flush of the dawn this morning.
Mother, I have heard your voice filling up the sky with silence.
Mother, I bend my knees to the whole world in you.
Mother, I bring to your feet my work to be blessed by you.
Mother, I offer my life and heart to burn as incense before your shrine.
Song তরী আমার হঠাৎ ডুৱে যায়
MY boat sinks.
Where was the rock hidden I knew not.
It was her first voyage and I playfully sailed her in the shallow water.
The current was feeble; the breeze gentle; I was alone at the helm.
I had no care in my mind; there was no cloud in the sky; the banks were ablaze with flowers; when of a sudden my boat sinks.
Song (rakSaa karo he)
RESCUE me!
From my past deeds that track me day and night relentlessly, rescue me!
I am frightened of my silent shadow that keeps me company, and of my thoughts that devour my heart in secret. Rescue me!
Day by day I wind around me the snare woven of a thousand subtle threads of deception. Rescue me!
Pride sits at my heart-gate and keeps the world away.
I am a prisoner in the gloom of the dark tower of myself. Rescue me!
Song ও যে মানে না মানা
SHE will have no denial.
When I turn to go she cries, "No, no, ah no!"
"I cannot tarry," I say.
She looks up to my face and cries, "No, no, ah no!"
The March wind is wild among the leaves.
I say to her, "It is late."
She stands at the door and cries, "No, no, ah no!"
Song প্রচণ্ড গর্জনে আসিল একি দুর্দিন
THE black fear is creeping in the sky.
The angry clouds growl and swell their manes.
Lightnings dart their fiery fangs into the heart of the night, and the sky sheds tears from its sightless eyes.
Shake off your fright, timid heart, stand up with glad strength, and touch him with love who sits on the seat of dark death.
Song ওই রে তরী দিল খুলে
THE boat has sailed away. What will you do with your burdens?
When forward you go, why leave you not your past behind?
Foolishly you take it on your back and you lag on the shore.
Things that are best left at home, must you carry them on your journey?
O, call your boatman with all your might. Fling your burdens in the dust.
Make your life light and free and place it in his care.
Song ওহে সুন্দর, মম গৃহে আজি
THE night of love has come into my house, O thou Beautiful!
Come to my heart, beloved of my heart, smile upon my tears!
I have a flower chain to hang on thy neck and flowers to place at they feet.
I have gathered from my garden the late jasmines of the evening.
Let me take off my ring and put it on thy finger, my lover, for the night of love has come.
Another version:
O BEAUTIFUL one,
There is a great celebration in my house tonight,
I have prepared you a place in the golden temple of my heart.
Come, come take your seat as my prince and lord.
Let your sympathetic laughter rain down upon my tearful eyes.
From the gardens and groves
I have gathered bouquets of jasmine.
I will place a garland around your neck
and baskets of flowers at your feet.
I will lie at your feet and play you tunes on golden strings,
and will welcome you and take you with me
Beloved of my mind.
(Translation by Marian Chatterjee, unpublished manuscript, June 2013)
Song (ke uThe Daaki)
THE small bird cries out in the nest of my heart, where is its mate?
The leaves are thick around it, the shadows dark, the silent hours are laden low with slumber and the small bird knows no sleep.
The night drowses with its drooping head, the eyes of the stars are unconscious.
The pale sky is dreaming, the moon has lost its steps in the emptiness, and the small bird cries out in the nest of my heart.
Song অমল ধবল পালে লেগেছে মন্দ মধুর হাওয়া
THE spotless white sails are unfurled and the breeze blows gently.
My captain, who ever has seen such pliotage in the deep?
What balms and spices freight the ship, from what island of endless summer?
Song (ke uThe Daaki)
THE small bird cries out in the nest of my heart, where is its mate?
The leaves are thick around it, the shadows dark, the silent hours are laden low with slumber and the small bird knows no sleep.
The night drowses with its drooping head, the eyes of the stars are unconscious.
The pale sky is dreaming, the moon has lost its steps in the emptiness, and the small bird cries out in the nest of my heart.
Song অমল ধবল পালে লেগেছে মন্দ মধুর হাওয়া
THE spotless white sails are unfurled and the breeze blows gently.
My captain, who ever has seen such pliotage in the deep?
What balms and spices freight the ship, from what island of endless summer?
My heart longs to leave all its wishings and winnings on this side of the water and follow you.
Behind you sound the muffled rumblings of the clouds and rains blind the eyes of the sky; before you the sun bares his heart and flings all his treasure in your path.
Pilot, who are you that stand between the smile and the tears?
I know not what to say or to think; I look at your face and feel that I must launch all my songs in your boat.
Song যা হারিয়ে যায় তা আগলে ব'সে রইব কত আর
THE things that get lost I watch them with sleepless eyes, with my doors shut.
Those who come to my gate I turn them away in suspicion.
Thus I sit alone day and night and you find no way into my house.
And all that I keep with care crumbles into dust.
Song এক মনে তোর একতারাতে
THERE is only one string in your harp, strike it and sing.
There is only one flower in your garden, bring it to the altar.
Where there is a limit to your being, stop there and be glad.
The smallest copper coin from your lord accept with a smile.
In the round of random pursuits wander not in maze.
And know that the lord of your heart is ever in your heart.
Song আমায় ভুলতে দিতে নাইকো তোমার ভয়
THOU art not afraid if I forget thee.
For there is a limit to my forgetfulness but not to thy love.
When I go far from thee the distance is only mine; thou art never distant.
If the bud of my heart is shy, the breath of thy spring still waits.
When thou art beaten in thy deal with me the victory lies deep in the heart of that defeat.
Song এই লভিনু সঙ্গ তব,সুন্দর হে সুন্দর
THOU hast sat by me, O Beautiful!
My body has become sweet, my heart glad.
My eyes have opened upon the world like a flower— the breeze in my mind's sky is laden with dreams, O Beautiful!
This flash of joy in my heart will never fade, this moment of love shall be immortal in me.
Thou makest me new with every touch of thine,— my life becomes a lotus opening its petals of new births morning after morning.
Song তুমি যে আমারে চাও আমি সে জানি
THY love must ever draw me on to thy perfect bliss. I know that.
It is not in vain that thou makest me weep. I know that.
Why, in this checkered light and shadows, is this thy hide and seek? I know that.
In all hours of the day with knocks at my door, why are these many voiced calls to me? I know that.
And when all meetings and partings are over, to where dost thou ply the last ferry of the day? I know that.
Song যতবার আলো জ্বালাতে চাই
TIME and again I light my lamp and it dies away.
Thus in my life your seat is in darkness.
I have a flowering tree in my garden, but its roots have withered, its buds never come into flower.
Thus my offering to you is only blank pain.
My worship has no splendour, my garment is ragged.
No guests have appeared in the feast, the music is mute.
Only the pity for my tears has brought you into the wreck of this temple.
Song অসীম আকাশে অগণ্য কিরণ
WHILE the countless lights of the sky are out to seek you in the limitless waste of the dark, you sit in my heart, beloved, resplendent in the light of your own love.
Song কে দিল আবার আঘাত আমার
WHO is it that knocks at my gate?
The young guest had come one day when the spring was in the land and the air was sweet.
But it rains tonight, the wind is hoarsely loud, my lamp is dim, and I am alone.
Ah, you latecomer, you guest of the midnight, fearful is your music.
Yet, I think I shall follow you into the unknown dark.
Song (aamaar hRidaYasamudrateere)
YOU stand on the seashore of my heart.
The waves have become wild to touch your feet.
Go not away, beloved, the wind is rising.
Wait till the sea breaks its bounds.
The waves have become wild to touch your feet.
Song লুকিয়ে আস আঁধার রাতে
Behind you sound the muffled rumblings of the clouds and rains blind the eyes of the sky; before you the sun bares his heart and flings all his treasure in your path.
Pilot, who are you that stand between the smile and the tears?
I know not what to say or to think; I look at your face and feel that I must launch all my songs in your boat.
Song যা হারিয়ে যায় তা আগলে ব'সে রইব কত আর
THE things that get lost I watch them with sleepless eyes, with my doors shut.
Those who come to my gate I turn them away in suspicion.
Thus I sit alone day and night and you find no way into my house.
And all that I keep with care crumbles into dust.
Song এক মনে তোর একতারাতে
THERE is only one string in your harp, strike it and sing.
There is only one flower in your garden, bring it to the altar.
Where there is a limit to your being, stop there and be glad.
The smallest copper coin from your lord accept with a smile.
In the round of random pursuits wander not in maze.
And know that the lord of your heart is ever in your heart.
Song আমায় ভুলতে দিতে নাইকো তোমার ভয়
THOU art not afraid if I forget thee.
For there is a limit to my forgetfulness but not to thy love.
When I go far from thee the distance is only mine; thou art never distant.
If the bud of my heart is shy, the breath of thy spring still waits.
When thou art beaten in thy deal with me the victory lies deep in the heart of that defeat.
Song এই লভিনু সঙ্গ তব,সুন্দর হে সুন্দর
THOU hast sat by me, O Beautiful!
My body has become sweet, my heart glad.
My eyes have opened upon the world like a flower— the breeze in my mind's sky is laden with dreams, O Beautiful!
This flash of joy in my heart will never fade, this moment of love shall be immortal in me.
Thou makest me new with every touch of thine,— my life becomes a lotus opening its petals of new births morning after morning.
Song তুমি যে আমারে চাও আমি সে জানি
THY love must ever draw me on to thy perfect bliss. I know that.
It is not in vain that thou makest me weep. I know that.
Why, in this checkered light and shadows, is this thy hide and seek? I know that.
In all hours of the day with knocks at my door, why are these many voiced calls to me? I know that.
And when all meetings and partings are over, to where dost thou ply the last ferry of the day? I know that.
Song যতবার আলো জ্বালাতে চাই
TIME and again I light my lamp and it dies away.
Thus in my life your seat is in darkness.
I have a flowering tree in my garden, but its roots have withered, its buds never come into flower.
Thus my offering to you is only blank pain.
My worship has no splendour, my garment is ragged.
No guests have appeared in the feast, the music is mute.
Only the pity for my tears has brought you into the wreck of this temple.
Song অসীম আকাশে অগণ্য কিরণ
WHILE the countless lights of the sky are out to seek you in the limitless waste of the dark, you sit in my heart, beloved, resplendent in the light of your own love.
Song কে দিল আবার আঘাত আমার
WHO is it that knocks at my gate?
The young guest had come one day when the spring was in the land and the air was sweet.
But it rains tonight, the wind is hoarsely loud, my lamp is dim, and I am alone.
Ah, you latecomer, you guest of the midnight, fearful is your music.
Yet, I think I shall follow you into the unknown dark.
Song (aamaar hRidaYasamudrateere)
YOU stand on the seashore of my heart.
The waves have become wild to touch your feet.
Go not away, beloved, the wind is rising.
Wait till the sea breaks its bounds.
The waves have become wild to touch your feet.
Song লুকিয়ে আস আঁধার রাতে
YOU have come to me hidden in the darkness of night, My Friend!
You draw me to your bosom with your firm strong hands, My Joy!
You ride upon the chariot, drawn by my sorrow, My Friend!
Is it a trouble, is it a loss?
It is You, My Joy!
O the Enemy, defeat me in your fight, My Friend!
O the Awful, make an end to all the fears, My Joy!
O Thunder, rend my heart and enter into my being, My Friend!
O Death, Show me the path to immortal freedom, My Joy! **
You draw me to your bosom with your firm strong hands, My Joy!
You ride upon the chariot, drawn by my sorrow, My Friend!
Is it a trouble, is it a loss?
It is You, My Joy!
O the Enemy, defeat me in your fight, My Friend!
O the Awful, make an end to all the fears, My Joy!
O Thunder, rend my heart and enter into my being, My Friend!
O Death, Show me the path to immortal freedom, My Joy! **
Another version:
The Friend
SECRETLY thou comest in the dark night,
Thou art my friend;
Thou drawest me to thyself with a rough hand,
Thou art my joy.
Thou art the charioteer on my chariot of sorrow,
Thou art my friend;
Thou art my peril, thou art my loss,
Thou art my joy.
Vanquish me, I am thine enemy,
Thou art my friend;
O Terrible, thou art the dread of dread,
Thou art my joy.
Come, thou thunder, pierce my heart,
Thou art my friend;
O death, tear me from my bonds,
Thou art my joy.
(Translation by Nagendranath Gupta, Sheaves, Indian Press, Allahabad, 1929)
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*If not specified all Songs are translated from Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, "Ingareji Rupantar",
Rabindra Beeksaa, vol. 17, Rabindra-Bhavan, Aug 1987
** Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, English Writings of Tagore, Appendix
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