Support the Lietuva.love project

Bud, Little Oak lyrics and meaning

On this page
-Išsprok išsprok, ųžuolėli,- Jau žiema nuvejo, Parenk, našlė sa sūnelį Pachodan išlaist. /2×2 -Mes pachodo nesbijosim, Greitai apsirengsim, Lėkit kelių, lėkit viešų, Kad jis nedulkė(tų), /2×2 Lėkit kelių, lėkit viešų, Kad jis nedulkėtų, Razvožiokit mocynėlį, Kad gailiai neverk(tų) /2×2 Lėjom kelių, lėjom viešų,- Vis kelalis dulksta, Razvožiojom mocynėlį,- Dar ji gailiau ver(kė). /2×2 -Voi sūneli, oi raiteli, Kadu sveciu būsi? -Tadu būsiu, mocynėla, Mylimu svete(liu), /2×2 Tadu būsiu, mocynėla, Mylimu sveteliu, Kap žels žolė cykioj klėcėj, Klėcėj an padla(go). /2×2 Žėlė žolė, žėlė žalia, Jau pradėjo dziūcia, Motka, sūnaus nesulaukus, Pradėj gailiai verkc. /2×2 Gieda gaidžiai an vartelių, Sako: Kakariekū, Motka sūnaus nesulaukė, Savo visų vie(kų). /2×2

Meaning

This Dzūkian song can be understood as a recruit song about a widow's son being sent to war. At the beginning, the little oak is urged to bud because winter has passed, while the widow must prepare her son for the pachodas, the military campaign. The pairing of spring and departure opens the theme of separation.

The household says they will not fear the campaign and will quickly dress; they ask that the roads and public ways be swept so the son will not be covered in dust, and that the mother be comforted so she will not weep bitterly. Yet although the roads are swept, they still raise dust, and the mother, though comforted, weeps even more bitterly. This image can be read as unstoppable grief that no effort can suppress.

Asked when he will come as a guest, the son answers that he will be a beloved guest when grass grows in the quiet granary on the floorboards. This impossible condition can be understood as a hint that he will not return. When the grass has grown and begun to dry, the mother, not having received her son, weeps for her whole life. This is one possible meaning, but the motifs of separation and loss are clear.

Symbols

Budding little oak
The oak budding in spring marks the time of departure. It links natural renewal with the son's leaving.
Widow and son
The widow raising her son alone and sending him to the campaign is the emotional center of the song.
Pachodas
A military campaign or service for which the son is prepared. It marks a departure from which he may not return.
Grass in the granary
An impossible condition for return: grass growing inside a granary on the floor. It hints at the son's non-return or death.

History

"Bud, Little Oak" belongs to military-historical recruit songs, telling of a son being sent to war or service and of the mother's grief. The song is Dzūkian, as shown by dialectal forms such as ųžuolėli, mocynėla, padlago, and viekų, as well as the Slavic-derived military term "pachodas." Spring awakening, the call for the oak to bud because winter has passed, is set beside the son's departure, joining the cycle of nature with the pain of separation.

The exact recording time and place are not given on this page, so the song is presented according to genre and dialect. The impossible condition for return, "when grass grows in the quiet granary on the floor," is an old formulaic sign of loss, implying that the son will not return. The song ends with the mother's weeping for her whole age, meaning her whole life.

Sources