Autumn Will Come lyrics and meaning
Atejs rudenėlis, šaltoji žiemelė,
Nustojo kukuoti raiboji gegelė,
Nustojo kukuoti raiboji gegelė.
Apie visų šventę reiks mums išvažiuoti,
Nustokim broliukai daineles dainuoti,
Nustokim broliukai daineles dainuoti.
Veža tėvas sūnų šalia pasodinęs,
O sūnelis verkia, tėvą apskabinęs,
O sūnelis verkia, tėvą apskabinęs.
Verkė tėvelis, verkė motinėlė,
O labiausiai verkia jauna mergužėlė,
O labiausiai verkia jauna mergužėlė.
Cit, neverk, mergele, balta lelijėle,
Aš tau parašysiu margą gromatelę,
Aš tau parašysiu, margą gromatėlę
Aš tau parašysiu margą gromatėlę,
Toje gromatėlėj --- vardą pavardėlę,
Toje gromatėlėj --- vardą pavardėlę.
Kas man iš to rašto, vardo pavardėlės,
Kad nėra bernelio, balto dobilėlio,
Kad nėra bernelio, balto dobilėlio
Meaning
This song can be understood as a recruit or departure song in which a young man says farewell to home and to his beloved young woman. At the beginning, autumn and the cold winter arrive, and the speckled cuckoo stops calling. In Lithuanian songs, the silencing of the cuckoo often marks sadness, an ending, or approaching separation.
Around All Saints' time, they must leave, so the brothers are urged to stop singing. The father drives his son seated beside him, and the son weeps while embracing his father. The father weeps, the mother weeps, and the young woman weeps most of all. This image can be read as the grief of the whole family circle over the departing young man.
The young man comforts the maiden by promising to write her a variegated letter with his name and surname. But her answer is painful: what use is that writing if the young man himself, the white clover, is not there? The idea is that a letter cannot replace the living person. That is one possible meaning, but the motifs of separation and longing are clear.
Symbols
- Autumn and winter
- The cold season marking the time of departure and separation. It creates a sad, dark mood.
- Silent cuckoo
- The cuckoo that has stopped calling marks sadness and ending in folk songs. It foretells the approaching departure.
- All Saints' time
- The calendar period around All Saints and All Souls, naming the time of departure and tying the song to a specific season.
- Gromatėlė
- A letter that the young man promises to write to the maiden. It becomes a sign of longing and indirect contact, unable to replace the living person.
History
"Autumn Will Come" belongs to military-historical songs, specifically recruit or departure songs, in which a young man leaves home and the whole family sees him off in a tone close to lament. Its motifs - the silenced cuckoo, autumn and winter cold, the weeping of every family member, and the promised "gromatėlė" or little letter - are typical images of farewell to a departing soldier. The three-line stanza with the last line repeated sustains a slow, mournful rhythm of leave-taking.
The exact recording place and date are not given on this page, so the song is presented through its genre features; recruit and departure songs appear in many Lithuanian regions. The letter motif and the maiden's answer, that writing cannot replace the young man himself, connect the song with lyrics of longing and separation.
Sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- D. Krištopaitė. Lietuvių karinės-istorinės dainos, Vilnius 1956
- Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia: Lithuanian folk songs
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia: military-historical songs
- LLTI: Lithuanian Folk Songbook
Common questions
Autumn Will Come: what kind of song is this?
It is a military-historical recruit or departure song about saying farewell to home and to a beloved young woman before leaving.
What does the silent cuckoo at the beginning mean?
In Lithuanian songs, a speckled cuckoo that has stopped calling marks sadness, ending, and approaching separation; here it foretells departure.
What is a gromatėlė?
It is a letter, from a borrowed form related to German. The young man promises to write a variegated letter with his name and surname, but that is not enough for the maiden.
Why does the maiden say she does not need the writing?
She says that writing is worth nothing if the young man himself, the white clover, is absent. A letter cannot replace a living person.