Fly Back, Swallow lyrics and meaning

Parlek blezdinga.
Parlek iš rytą,
Parneš didį naujieną.

Kaip tik užmingu,
Tuojau prabundu,
Parein vyrai kiap vilka.

Išlauš durelas,
Suriš rankelas,
Veda moni į keimą.

Išved į keimą,
Suodin i briką,
Apkalpuoja gelžine.

Veža rekrūtus.
Dvidešimt penkis metus
Motinėlės nebmatysiu daugiau.

Fly Back, Swallow: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a recruit song about violent seizure into the army. At the beginning, a swallow flies back in the morning, bringing great news. This image can be interpreted as a sign of fate, a bird-messenger.

Then, just after falling asleep, the singer wakes because men come like wolves, break down the doors, bind his hands, and lead him into the village. These images can be understood as the brutal forced capture of a young man.

At the end, he is seated in a cart, shackled with iron, and taken away as a recruit; for twenty-five years he will no longer see his mother. These images can be interpreted as the cruelty of long military service and final separation from home. That is one possible meaning, but the motif of forced recruitment is clear.

Fly Back, Swallow: symbols and phrases

Swallow with news
The swallow flying back in the morning with news is a bird-messenger and a sign of fate.
Men like wolves
The predatory men who break the door mark the violent agents of conscription.
Bound hands and iron
The man is tied and shackled with iron, signifying violent seizure into service.
Twenty-five years
The long period of service during which he will not see his mother signifies the cruelty of conscription and final separation.

Fly Back, Swallow: song history

"Fly Back, Swallow" belongs to military-historical songs about forced conscription. The song begins with a bird as messenger of news - the swallow flying back in the morning and bringing "great news" - and then turns into a harsh scene of recruit-catching: men come like wolves, break down the door, bind the hands, put the man into a cart, and shackle him with iron. The bird as a sign of fate and the images of violence are typical of recruit songs.

The song reflects the recruitment practices of the Russian imperial period, when men taken into the army had to serve for a very long time - here twenty-five years are named; such service often meant that the young man would not return or see his loved ones again. The exact recording place and time are not given on the page, so the song is presented by genre features that explain its violence and its motif of losing the mother.

sources

  • Lithuanian Folk Songbook, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • D. Krištopaitė, Lithuanian Military-Historical Songs, Vilnius 1956

Fly Back, Swallow: sources