Down That Street lyrics and meaning

Tuojuo ulyčiuo,
Puo juovarieliu
Verki jaunas bernelis,
Verki jaunas sūnel(is).

Vuoj, cit neverk,
Jaunas berneli,
Ont atvažiù tetušis,
Ont atvažiù senas(is).

Vuo kas mun iš tuo
Sena tieveli,
Kad nier muna panelis,
Kad nier muna jaunuo(sis)?

Tuojuo ulyčiuo,
Puo juovarieliu
Verki jauna paneli,
Verki jauna jaunuoj(i).

Vuoj, cit neverk,
Jauna paneli,
Ont atvažiū matuši,
Ont atvažiū senuoj(i).

Vuo kas mun is tuos
Senuos matušis,
Kad nier muna berneli,
Kad nier muna jaunuo(ji)?

Down That Street: song interpretation

This Samogitian-dialect song can be understood as a song about longing for the beloved. At the beginning, down that street, beneath the jovaras, a young man weeps. When he is comforted with the promise that his father, the old man, will arrive, he answers: what use is that old father to me, when my girl is not here? This reply can be interpreted as the thought that a father cannot replace the beloved.

The same structure is then transferred to the young woman: she weeps, and she is comforted with the promise that her mother will arrive, but she answers: what use is that old mother to me, when my young man is not here? These images can be understood as the equal longing of both.

The irreplaceable place of the beloved, even beside parents, can be interpreted as the song's central idea. That is one possible meaning, but the motif of longing is clear. The song is close to another variant beginning with the same words.

Down That Street: symbols and phrases

Street and jovaras
The street and maple-like jovaras where the weeping takes place mark the song's setting.
Weeping young man and young woman
The two young people weeping under the tree mark longing for the beloved.
Arriving father and mother
The promised parental comfort marks kinship closeness, which is not enough here.
"What use is father when the girl is gone"
The beloved cannot be replaced by parents, marking the irreplaceability of the loved person.

Down That Street: song history

"Down That Street" is a Samogitian-dialect love song in which two parallel stanzas portray a young man weeping under a jovaras and a young woman weeping there as well. When the weeping person is comforted with the promise that father or mother will arrive, the answer is that old parental comfort cannot replace the lost beloved. This question-and-answer structure, and the comparison of parents with the beloved, is typical of songs of love and longing.

The exact recording place and time are not given on the page, so the song is presented through genre traits; it is close to a variant beginning with the same words. Dialect forms such as "ulyčiuo," "juovarieliu," and "muna" point to Samogitian origin, and the repeated two-stanza structure highlights the equal longing of young man and young woman.

sources

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

Down That Street: sources