All Through This Night lyrics and meaning
Šių naktį per naktį,
Gaideliai giedojo.
Šių naktį per naktį,
Gaideliai giedojo.
Nemiegokit gaideliai,
Netrumpykit naktelės.
Nemiegokit gaideliai,
Netrumpykit naktelės.
Išaušta aušrelė,
Patekės Saulalė.
Išaušta aušrelė,
Patekės Saulalė.
Imsim broliai dalgelius
Eisim pjauti šienolio.
Imsim broliai dalgelius
Eisim pjauti šienolio.
Dar neišpjoviau
Anei pradalgėlės.
Dar neišpjoviau
Anei pradalgėlės.
Un dalgės pasirėmiau,
Ant dalgelės rymojau.
Un dalgės pasirėmiau,
Ant dalgelės rymojau.
Meaning
This song can be understood as a haymaking song. At the beginning, it says that roosters crowed all through the night, and they are urged not to sleep and not to shorten the little night. This request can be interpreted as a wish for longer rest before work.
Then dawn breaks, the sun will rise, and the brothers will take up their scythes and go cut hay. These images can be understood as the beginning of early-morning haymaking.
At the end, the singer says that not even one swath has been cut yet, and that he has been leaning on the scythe. This image can be interpreted as tiredness or reflection stopping the work. This is one possible meaning, but the motif of haymaking and leaning on the scythe is clear in the song.
Symbols
- Roosters crowing at night
- Roosters crowing through the night. They mark the passage of night and approaching morning.
- "Do not shorten the night"
- A request that the roosters not hurry the dawn. It marks the desire for longer rest.
- Scythes and haymaking
- The scythes taken up to cut hay. They mark heavy summer labor.
- "I leaned on the scythe"
- The singer rests on the scythe instead of cutting. It marks fatigue or thoughtfulness.
History
"All Through This Night" belongs to work songs, more precisely haymaking songs. The text is composed from repeated pairs and leads from night toward labor: the roosters that crow all night are asked not to shorten the night, then dawn breaks and the brothers take up scythes to go cut hay.
The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented according to genre features, above all the motifs of early-morning haymaking and leaning on the scythe. At the end, the singer admits that not even one swath has been cut and that he has been leaning on the scythe, so beneath the surface of a work song there emerges a mood of fatigue or reflection typical of lyrical work songs.
Sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, t. 1–23, Vilnius 1980–2011 (LLTI)
- Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 t., Vilnius 1972–1986
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia: Lithuanian folk songs
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia: work songs
- LLTI: Lithuanian Folk Songbook
Common questions
All Through This Night: what kind of song is this?
It is a work song, more specifically a haymaking song about early morning, scythes, and cutting hay.
Why are the roosters asked not to shorten the night?
Roosters crowing at night hurry the dawn; asking them not to shorten the night marks a desire for more rest before heavy work.
What does "I leaned on the scythe" mean?
The singer leaning on the scythe instead of cutting shows fatigue or reflection that stops the work, a feature typical of lyrical work songs.
What is a pradalgė?
A pradalgė, here in diminutive form, is one swath of hay cut by a mower's scythe; the singer says that not even that much has been cut.