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Du gaideliai (Two Little Cockerels) lyrics and meaning

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Du gaideliai, du gaideliai, Baltus žirnius kūlė, Dvi vištelės, dvi vištelės Į malūną vežė. (×2) Ožys malė, ožys malė, Ožka pikliavojo, O ši trečia ožkytėlė Miltus nusijojo. (×2) Musė maišė, musė maišė, Uodas vandens nešė, Saulė virė, saulė virė, Mėnesėlis kepė. (×2)
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This translation explains the words; it is not a singable adaptation. A reading translation of this three-stanza variant, not a singable English adaptation. “Pikliavojo” refers to processing flour finely.

Lithuanian lyrics

Du gaideliai, du gaideliai, Baltus žirnius kūlė, Dvi vištelės, dvi vištelės Į malūną vežė. (×2)

Literal meaning

Two little cockerels, two little cockerels, Threshed white peas, Two little hens, two little hens Carried them to the mill. (×2)

Lithuanian lyrics

Ožys malė, ožys malė, Ožka pikliavojo, O ši trečia ožkytėlė Miltus nusijojo. (×2)

Literal meaning

The he-goat ground, the he-goat ground, The she-goat bolted the flour, And this third little she-goat Sifted the flour. (×2)

Lithuanian lyrics

Musė maišė, musė maišė, Uodas vandens nešė, Saulė virė, saulė virė, Mėnesėlis kepė. (×2)

Literal meaning

The fly mixed, the fly mixed, The mosquito carried water, The Sun cooked, the Sun cooked, The little Moon baked. (×2)

Meaning

Animals do human work: cockerels thresh, hens carry peas to the mill, goats grind and sift, and insects help prepare food. Repetition makes the sequence and its characters easy to follow. The Sun and Moon become cooks at the end. This is personification in the text; the stanza alone does not establish an ancient ritual or a particular religious belief.

For learning, ask who performed each task or invite children to draw the sequence after a stanza. This is an editorial teaching suggestion, rather than a documented traditional circle dance or required choreography.

Symbols

Working animals
The characters are personified through threshing, carrying, milling and preparing food.
Sun and Moon
This variant includes them in the chain of everyday tasks. Their presence alone does not establish a ritual origin.

History

“Du gaideliai” is identified as a Lithuanian children’s folk song by the National Library of Lithuania and the 2021 Gintarėliai songbook. This page follows the three-stanza text on page 81 of that edition. Chord symbols are omitted; punctuation and capitalisation are regularised, while word forms and the instruction to repeat each stanza are retained.

This is a publication reference rather than a record of a named singer’s performance. A separate LLTI archive item, LTRF mg 1499(2), bears the same title, but has no transcript or known performer, collector, place or year. It is not presented as the recording of the version printed here or as evidence of where this song originated.

Sources