Beyond the Danube lyrics and meaning

Anoj pusėj Dunojo
Ty sesułė uliojo,
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Ty sesułė uliojo. /2x

Ty sesułė uliojo ,
Aukso kupkus kilojo.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Aukso kupkus kilojo. /2x

Aukso kupkus kilojo,
Ir bernelį viliojo.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Ir bernelį viliojo. /2x

-Oi berneli, berneli,
Kodėl mani nelankai.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Kodėl mani nelankai. /2x

Kap aš tavi lankysiu,
Piktas tavi tėvulis.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Piktas tavi tėvulis. /2x

Aš tėvuli nulanksiu,
Patałėlį paklosiu.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Patałėlį paklosiu. /2x

Kap aš tavi lankysiu
Pikta tavo motułė.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Pikta tavo motułė. /2x

Aš motułį nulanksiu,
Vandenėlio parnešiu.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Vandenėlio parnešiu. /2x

Kap aš tavi lankysiu,
Pikta tavo sesułė.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Pikta tavo sesułė. /2x

Aš sesułį nulanksiu,
Žalių rūtų laistysiu
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Žalių rūtų laistysiu /2x

Kap aš tavi lankysiu,
Piktas tavo brolalis
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Piktas tavo brolalis /2x

Aš brolalį nulanksiu,
Bėrų žirgų pašarsiu.
O-o-o-o-o-o,
Bėrų žirgų pašarsiu. /2x

Beyond the Danube: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a love and courtship song in which a young woman and a young man speak through the obstacles that stand in the way of meeting. The opening image, "on the other side of the Danube," is probably not a literal reference to the Danube River, but a symbolic boundary: in Lithuanian songs, water often separates two worlds or two lovers. On that far side the sister feasts, lifts golden cups, and entices the young man.

In the dialogue the young man explains why he does not visit the young woman: her father, mother, sister, or brother is angry. To each obstacle the young woman answers with a promise to soften it: she will win over the father, bring water for the mother, water green rue for the sister, and feed bay horses for the brother. This repeating pattern can be read as the young woman's resolve to overcome every family barrier for the beloved.

The green rue named in the line about the sister is traditionally associated with maidenhood and chastity, so the whole text may also carry a subtle marital undertone. That is one possible reading; the exact meaning would depend on the particular singing context, but the courtship pattern and the overcoming of obstacles are clearly visible.

Beyond the Danube: symbols and phrases

Danube
In Lithuanian songs this is often a symbolic river rather than the actual Danube. It marks a boundary between one's own and a foreign world, or between lovers.
Golden cups
Cups of gold suggest festivity, wealth, and enticement. They heighten the young woman's allure and the atmosphere of feasting.
Green rue
A traditional Lithuanian sign of maidenhood and chastity. Watering rue for the sister may carry an undertone of marriage and coming of age.
"I will bend them"
The phrase means to persuade, appease, or incline someone to one's side. The young woman promises to overcome each hostile family member gently.

Beyond the Danube: song history

The song belongs to love and courtship songs, a group marked by flexible plots and by the adoption of motifs from other genres. This text uses the familiar "overcoming obstacles" model: for each hostile family member, the father, mother, sister, or brother, the young woman answers with a promise to appease that person, and the chain repeats stanza by stanza.

The opening image "on the other side of the Danube" points to the song's age and to a traveling motif: in Lithuanian songs the Danube is often used not as an actual river, but as a sign of distant water and of a boundary between one's own world and the world beyond. No exact recording data is given on the page, so the song is presented by genre.

sources

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

Beyond the Danube: sources