Godmother, Do Not Scare the Dove lyrics and meaning

Uoj kūmai kūmai,
Nebaidyk karvelio
Mano karvelis
Tau škadų nedaro /2×2

Mano karvelis
Tau škadų nedaro
Mano karvelis
Po du grūdu lesa /2×2

Mano karvelis
Po du grūdu lesa
Mano karvelis
Po du kiaušu deda /2×2

Mano karvelis
Po du kiaušu deda
Mano karvelis
Po du vaiku veda /2×2

Godmother, Do Not Scare the Dove: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a playful teasing song about a dove. At the beginning the singer addresses the kūma and asks her not to scare the dove, because the dove does no harm. This request can be read as defending a beloved creature.

The song then moves through cumulative, doubled images: the dove pecks two grains, lays two eggs, and raises two young. These images can be understood as playful exaggeration, moving from feeding to reproduction.

The doubled images may be read as an element of humor and riddle-like play. This is one possible meaning, but the playful, cumulative character of the song is clear.

Godmother, Do Not Scare the Dove: symbols and phrases

Dove
The dove being protected from being scared. It marks a loved and guarded creature.
Scaring kūma
The kūma, or godmother/co-mother, who scares the dove. She marks the threat to the beloved creature.
"Does no harm"
The defense of the dove's innocence. It justifies protecting the creature.
"Two grains, two eggs, two young"
Doubled images of feeding, laying, and raising young. They mark playful cumulative exaggeration.

Godmother, Do Not Scare the Dove: song history

"Godmother, Do Not Scare the Dove" belongs to playful, teasing children's songs with a cumulative chain structure. Addressing the kūma, the singer asks her not to scare the dove because it "does no harm," and then each stanza repeats the last line of the previous one and adds a new doubled image: the dove pecks two grains, lays two eggs, and raises two young. Such stepwise repetition and playful exaggeration are characteristic of children's and game songs.

The exact place and time of this recording are not stated on the page, so the song is presented through genre features. The repeated number two, moving from eating to breeding, creates a riddle-like and comic element, while the stepped structure makes the song easy to remember and sing in a group.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • P. Jokimaitienė. Lietuvių liaudies vaikų dainos, Vilnius 1970
  • Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

Godmother, Do Not Scare the Dove: sources