Beer, Beer lyrics and meaning

Alaus, alaus
Duos Dievas daugiau
Nors vakar per dieną
Alum lijo.

Alum lijo,
Apyniais snigo,
Tekėjo upeliai
Brang vynelio.

Jūs baratės,
Rokuojatės
Kai niekas nemato ---
Bučiuojatės.

Jūs barkitės,
Rokuokitės
Kai mes išvažiuosim
Žinokitės.

Beer, Beer: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a cheerful feast or wedding song that praises the abundance of drink and hospitality. The opening lines, "Beer, beer, God will give more," sound almost like a wish or toast: beer is requested, and at the same time there is faith that God will provide still more of it. This motif of plenty is typical of festive, banquet, and wedding songs, where fullness, harvest, and shared joy are wished for.

The images of beer raining, hops snowing, and streams of dear wine flowing are most likely deliberate exaggeration. Rain made of beer, snow made of hops, and rivers made of wine create a fairy-tale, hyperbolic world of excess. In this context hops may point to beer-making itself, since hops are a main flavoring ingredient of beer; "it snowed hops" can therefore be heard as an allusion to abundant brewing.

The second part turns to human relations: people quarrel and reckon with one another, but when no one sees them, they kiss. This can be read as a humorous, perhaps teasing stanza about a couple who quarrel in public and make peace privately. In a wedding setting, such lines were often aimed at newlyweds or an engaged pair in friendly mockery. The final stanza, "when we leave, settle things yourselves," can be understood as the guests' farewell: once they depart, the couple is left to manage its own affairs.

All of this remains a possible interpretation. Without a specific recording context it is difficult to say whether the song was sung at weddings, work-finishing feasts, or ordinary gatherings, but the mood of abundance, joy, and gentle teasing is clear.

Beer, Beer: symbols and phrases

Beer
A traditional Lithuanian festive drink, often symbolizing abundance, hospitality, and communal joy. Here it becomes the axis of the whole song and a sign of well-being.
"God will give more"
A saying that joins an everyday wish with trust in divine grace. It can be heard as a toast or request that neither drink nor happiness run short.
Hops
The plant used in brewing beer. The image of hops falling like snow most likely points to abundant brewing, while hops in folk culture can also carry wedding and youth associations.
Little wine
A diminutive form of wine. The streams of dear wine emphasize luxury and solemnity, since wine was traditionally rarer and more expensive than beer.
Rokuotis
An old dialect verb meaning to quarrel, argue, or talk things out. In this context it describes a couple's dispute, which quickly turns into reconciliation.

Beer, Beer: song history

"Beer, Beer" belongs to feast songs, which were sung at the end of communal work, at calendar and family celebrations, and at neighbors' gatherings; their central theme is offering food and drink and taking part in hospitality. Hyperbolic images of abundance - beer raining, hops snowing, and streams of dear wine flowing - are a typical feature of the genre, singing a world of excess and delight.

The second part, with a couple who quarrels and secretly kisses, suggests that the song could also have been sung at weddings, where guests playfully teased the newlyweds. The page does not state the exact recording context, so the song is presented according to its genre features.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, t. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 t., Vilnius 1972-1986

Beer, Beer: sources