Beside the Road lyrics and meaning

Šaly kelio jovaras stovėjo,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Iš pašaknų skambantys kankleliai,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Per vidurį dūzgiančios bitelės,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Viršūnėlėj sakalo vaikeliai,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Ir atjoja brolelių pulkelis,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Prašom sustot, jaunieji broleliai,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Paklausyti skambančių kanklelių,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Paklausyti dūzgančių bitelių
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Pažiūrėti sakalo vaikelių
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Dėl tėvulio skambantys kankleliai,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Dėl motulės dūzgančios bitelės
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Dėl brolelio sakalo vaikeliai,
Slaunasai žolyne, rugel.

Beside the Road: song interpretation

This song with a refrain about the glorious herb and rye can be understood as a song about a symbolic tree, a jovaras. At the beginning a jovaras stands beside the road; at its roots little kanklės sound, in its middle bees buzz, and in its top sit young falcons. This three-level tree can be interpreted as a world-tree image joining bottom, middle, and top.

Then a band of brothers rides up and is asked to stop, to listen to the sounding kanklės and buzzing bees and to look at the young falcons. This invitation can be understood as a call to pause beside the wondrous tree.

At the end each part of the tree is assigned to a family member: the kanklės to the father, the bees to the mother, and the young falcons to the brother. This distribution can be interpreted as the meaning of family ties through the parts of the tree. That is one possible reading, but the symbolic tree and family motif are clear.

A second interpretation is also possible. The arriving "band of brothers" and the request to stop by the tree allow the song to be read as wedding-related: the wondrous jovaras, with kanklės music, bees' abundance, and young falcons, becomes an image of the bride's home or of the girl herself, before which arriving guests, matchmakers, or the groom's party are invited to pause. This remains a hypothesis, but it explains the riders and the invitation.

Beside the Road: symbols and phrases

Jovaras beside the road
A wondrous tree standing by the road, suggesting a symbolic or world-tree image.
Sounding kanklės at the roots
The kanklės sound rising from the roots marks music dedicated to the father.
Buzzing bees in the middle
Bees in the middle of the tree mark life and abundance, dedicated to the mother.
Young falcons in the top
Falcons in the top of the tree mark youth and future, dedicated to the brother.

Beside the Road: song history

"Beside the Road" belongs to lyric family songs in which the image of a wondrous tree becomes a symbol of family harmony. The whole song is composed around the jovaras standing by the road: at its roots kanklės sound, in its middle bees buzz, and in its top young falcons sit. This three-part tree, joining lower, middle, and upper levels, recalls the world tree image, while the refrain "Slaunasai žolyne, rugel" sustains a ritual, blessing tone.

The exact recording place and time are not given on this page, so the song is presented through genre traits, above all the tree composition and repeated refrain. At the end each element of the tree is dedicated to a family member, kanklės to father, bees to mother, young falcons to brother, so the symbolic tree becomes an image of kinship ties. Songs of this kind about the jovaras or linden exist in various Lithuanian regions.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • N. Laurinkienė, Mito atšvaitai lietuvių kalendorinėse dainose, Vilnius 1990
  • Catalogue of Lithuanian Folk Songs, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

Beside the Road: sources