The Forest Bear Boasted lyrics and meaning

Kvolijosi šilo meška,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Aš įkopsiu aukštan drevėn,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Be lėselių, be šakelių,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Be tų trecių kopinėlių.
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Nesikvolyk, šilo meška,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Neįkopsi aukštan dreven,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Be lėselių, be šakelių,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Be tų trecuų kopinėlių.
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Kvolijosi mergužėla,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Aš išausiu plonas drobes,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Be nytelių, be skytelių,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Be šios tracios šaudyklėlės.
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Nesikvolyk, mergužėla,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Neišausi plonas drobes,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Be nytelių, be skytelių,
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Be šios tracios šaudyklėlės.
Ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

The Forest Bear Boasted — second version lyrics

Kvolinosi šilo meška, ū ta ta ta, ū ta ta ta.

Aš inkopsiu aukšton drevėn
Be liesvelių, be šakelių
Be šių tracių kopynėlių
Nesikvolyk, šilo meška
Neinkopsi aukšton drevėn
Be liesvelių, be šakelių
Be šių tracių kopynėlių

Kvolinosi mergužėlė
Aš išausiu tankias drobes
Be nytelių, be skietelių
Be šios tracios šaudyklėlės
Nesikvolyk, mergužėle
Neišausi tankių drobių
Be nytelių, be skietelių
Be šios tracios šaudyklėlės

The Forest Bear Boasted: song interpretation

This song with the refrain "U ta ta ta" can be understood as a parallel teaching song about empty boasting. At first, the forest bear boasts that it will climb into a high tree hollow without footholds, branches, or climbing equipment. This boasting can be interpreted as pride without real means.

The bear is answered that it will not climb into the high hollow without those same tools. Then, in parallel, the young woman boasts that she will weave fine linen without heddles, a reed, or a shuttle, and she too is told that without them she will not weave.

The two parts are built in parallel, so the bear's boasting and the girl's boasting mirror each other. The comparison can be read as the idea that nothing can be achieved without proper means, and that empty boasting is fruitless. That is one possible meaning, but the didactic, mockery-of-boasting character is clear.

The Forest Bear Boasted: symbols and phrases

Boasting forest bear
The bear boasting that it will climb into the hollow signifies empty bragging.
Tree hollow and climbing gear
The high hollow and the tools needed to climb it point to beekeeping equipment without which the task cannot be done.
Boasting young weaver
The girl claiming she will weave fine linen is the parallel counterpart to the bear's boasting.
Heddles, reed, shuttle
The weaving tools without which linen cannot be woven. They signify the necessary means for work.

The Forest Bear Boasted: song history

"The Forest Bear Boasted" belongs to humorous didactic songs built on parallel structure: first the forest bear boasts that it will climb into a high tree hollow without climbing tools; then, in a matching part, a young woman boasts that she will weave linen without weaving tools. The repeated refrain "U ta ta ta" and the mirroring of the two parts are typical features of this playful, mocking genre.

The exact recording place and time are not given on the page, so the song is presented through genre features. The added second version, with variant words for the footholds and the woven linen, shows that this parallel formula of boasting circulated in several dialectal forms.

sources

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

The Forest Bear Boasted: sources