At My Father's House lyrics and meaning

Tai pas mano tėvulį
Trys sodeliai vyšnelių,
Tai pasėdėsim,
Gražiai pašnekėsim
Su giminėlėmis savo.

Tai už pirmo stalelio
Sėdi senas tėvelis,-
Tai pasėdėsim,
Gražiai pašnekėsim
Su giminėlėmis savo.

O už antro stalelio
Sėdi mano motulė,-
Tai pasėdėsim,
Gražiai pašnekėsim
Su giminėlėmis savo.

Oi, už trečio stalelio
Sėdi mano brolelis,-
Tai pasėdėsim,
Gražiai pašnekėsim
Su giminėlėmis savo.

Už ketvirto stalelio
Sėdi mano seselė,-
Tai pasėdėsim,
Gražiai pašnekėsim
Su giminėlėmis savo.

O už penkto stalelio
Sėdi mano susiedai,-
Tai pasėdėsim,
Gražiai pašnekėsim
Su giminėlėmis savo.

At My Father's House: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a song about a family gathering. At the beginning it says that at the father's home there are three little cherry orchards, and the refrain invites everyone to sit and speak beautifully with their own kin. The three cherry orchards can be interpreted as a sign of a rich and welcoming home.

The song then lists who sits at each little table: at the first, the old father; at the second, the mother; at the third, the brother; at the fourth, the sister; at the fifth, the neighbors. This enumeration can be understood as the gathering of the whole family and surrounding community.

Each stanza carries the invitation to sit and speak beautifully with relatives. This refrain can be read as the elevation of kinship warmth and togetherness. That is one possible meaning, but the family gathering and kinship motif are clear.

At My Father's House: symbols and phrases

Three cherry orchards
The father's cherry orchards mark a rich, warm, and welcoming home.
Five little tables
The tables where family members sit mark the gathering of the entire kin group.
Father, mother, brother, sister, neighbors
The seated family and neighbors mark the circle of kinship and community.
"We will speak beautifully with our kin"
The repeated invitation to sit with relatives marks kinship warmth and togetherness.

At My Father's House: song history

"At My Father's House" belongs to family songs: it steadily names the relatives seated at separate little tables, father, mother, brother, sister, and neighboring susiedai, so its structure rests on chain-like enumeration and a repeated invitation to sit and speak beautifully. The three cherry orchards at the father's home create a cozy, richly inhabited space, while the refrain "we will sit and speak beautifully with our kin" raises kinship warmth and togetherness as the song's central value.

The exact recording place and time are not given on this page, so the song is presented through genre traits; enumerated tables and seated relatives are typical of family and feast songs sung at family gatherings. Variants of such songs are known from various Lithuanian regions.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • Catalogue of Lithuanian Folk Songs, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

At My Father's House: sources