Dawn Is Breaking lyrics and meaning

Jau aušta aušružė žadin mamužė
Kelkis, jauna mergyte. /2x

Dar netsikėlus klausiau mamužės,
Kur dėjai vainikytį? /2x

O aš įdaviau tavo vainiką
Kieme jaunam bernyčiui. /2x

Ei, bernyt, bernyt, bernyti mano,
Kur dėjai vainikyti? /2x

O aš įmečiau į vandenėlį
Į srauningą upužę. /2x

Vainikytis plaukia gulbikės šaukia
Tai man gražu klausyti. /2x

Įsižiūrėki, mergyte mano,
Kaip dreba bėrs žirgytis. /2x

Taip tu drebėsi mergyte mano,
Kai mano valioj būsi. /2x

In penkis metus tave nebausiu
Pakolei atsidžiaugsiu. /2x

Ne taip kalbėjai, šelmi bernyti,
Kol mani perkalbėjai. /2x

Neketinai bausti, ketinai pajausti,
Ant rankužių nešioti. /2x

Dawn Is Breaking: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a song about a surrendered wreath and a young woman's fear of marriage. At the beginning dawn is breaking, and the mother wakes the young woman. Before even getting up, the young woman asks her mother where she put the wreath. In songs, the wreath is a sign of maidenhood, so the question is immediately important.

It turns out that the wreath has been given to a young man in the yard, and he has thrown it into the swift river. The wreath floats, and swans call. This image can be interpreted as the irreversible loss of maidenhood, as the wreath is carried away by water.

The young man points to the trembling bay horse and says that the young woman too will tremble when she is in his power. She reproaches him, saying that he did not speak like this while persuading her: he had promised not to punish her, but to carry her in his arms. This reproach can be understood as the gap between courtship promises and a frightening marital reality. That is one possible meaning, but the motifs of lost maidenhood and fear of marriage are clear.

Dawn Is Breaking: symbols and phrases

Wreath
A sign of maidenhood, given to the young man. Its fate drives the song.
Thrown into the river
The wreath is cast into the swift river. This marks the irreversible loss of maidenhood.
Trembling horse
A bay horse whose trembling is likened to the young woman's future fear. It signals anxiety about marriage.
Promises and threats
The young man's earlier promise to carry her in his arms contrasts with his later threat to keep her in his power.

Dawn Is Breaking: song history

"Dawn Is Breaking" belongs to love and wedding songs whose central sign is the wreath, a symbol of maidenhood. The song rests on the wreath motif: awakened by her mother, the young woman searches for the wreath; it has been given to a young man, and he throws it into a swift stream. The image of a wreath carried away by water often marks the irreversible loss of maidenhood in Lithuanian songs, so the song naturally moves toward fear of marriage.

The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented by genre. The closing reproach - the young man had promised to carry her in his arms but now threatens to keep her "in his power" - reveals the gap between courtship promises and the reality of marriage, a frequent theme in love and wedding songs.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • A. Juška. Lietuviškos svotbinės dainos, 2 vols., Vilnius 1955
  • Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

Dawn Is Breaking: sources