The Bee in the Wood lyrics and meaning

Oi, dūzgia byzgia
Traki bicinėlis,
Oi, uolioj uolioj,
Traki bicinėl.

Oi, ir atjoja
Raitųjų pulkelis,
Oi, uolioj uolioj,
Raitųjų pulkel.

Cik neatjoja
Mylimas brolalis,
Oi, uolioj uolioj,
Mylimas brolal.

Oi, tai pakavotas
Mylimas brolalis,
Oi, uolioj uolioj,
Mylimas brolal.

Prieg žalios girelės,
Prieg žalios pušelės,
Oi, uolioj uolioj,
Prieg žalios pušel.

Mes jį apsodysme
Žaliojom rūtelėm,
Oi, uolioj uolioj,
Žaliojom rūtel.

The Bee in the Wood: song interpretation

This song with the refrain "oi uolioj uolioj" can be understood as a military ballad about a fallen brother. At the beginning a little bee buzzes, and a band of riders arrives. This image can be interpreted as a picture of returning soldiers.

Then it is said that only the beloved brother does not ride in, because he is buried by the green forest, by the green pine. These images can be understood as the picture of a brother who has died and been buried.

At the end it is said that they will plant green rue around him. This image can be interpreted as a sign of mourning and remembrance, since rue in folk songs is often linked with memory. That is one possible meaning, but the motif of the fallen brother and mourning is clear.

The Bee in the Wood: symbols and phrases

Buzzing bee
The opening sound of the song. It marks the introductory image.
Band of riders
The approaching group of mounted men. It marks returning soldiers.
Brother who does not return
The brother absent from the riders' band. He marks the fallen one.
Planting rue around the grave
The brother's grave planted with green rue. It marks mourning and remembrance.

The Bee in the Wood: song history

"The Bee in the Wood" belongs to military-historical ballad songs about a fallen brother. As the riders' band returns, only the beloved brother is missing - he is buried by the green forest, by the green pine, and the grave is planted with green rue. This motif of the soldier who does not return, his grave in the forest, and the mournful planting of rue, together with the repeated refrain "oi, uolioj uolioj," is characteristic of military mourning songs.

The exact place and time of this recording are not stated on the page, so the song is presented by genre features. The green forest and pine, rue as a plant of remembrance, and the repetition of the refrain create a quiet, mournful tone; dialect forms such as "brolalis" and "bicinėlis" point to living oral origin.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, t. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • D. Krištopaitė. Lietuvių karinės-istorinės dainos, Vilnius 1956

The Bee in the Wood: sources