Green Fir Tree lyrics and meaning

Tu eglute tu žalioji,
Tu eglute tu žalioji,
Tu eglute tu žalioji, kol žiemelį nežaluoj.
Tu eglute tu žalioji, kol žiemelį nežaluoj.

Tik žalioji vasarėlį,
Tik žalioji vasarėlį,
Tik žalioji vasarėlį, kai jau pacį gražumėl
Tik žalioji vasarėlį, kai jau pacį gražumėl

Oi tėveli tėvužėli,
Oi tėveli tėvužėli,
Oi tėveli tėvužėli, žanyk manį rudenėl,
Oi tėveli tėvužėli, žanyk manį rudenėl.

O jei manį nežanysi,
O jei manį nežanysi,
O jei manį nežanysi, aš vaiskelin užsrašys.
O jei manį nežanysi, aš vaiskelin užsrašys.

Aš iš vaiskelio sugrįšiu,
Aš iš vaiskelio sugrįšiu ,
Aš iš vaiskelio sugrįšiu, ir tėvelio neklausys.
Aš iš vaiskelio sugrįšiu, ir tėvelio neklausys.

Green Fir Tree: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a song about a young man's impatience to marry. At the beginning, the green fir tree is addressed and told that it does not stay green in winter, only in summer, at the height of beauty. The fir tree that is green only in summer can be interpreted as a sign of youth's flowering and brief beauty.

The young man then asks his father to zanyti him in autumn, to arrange his marriage in time. This request can be understood as a desire to marry at the proper moment, without missing youth.

At the end, he threatens that if his father does not marry him off, he will enlist in the vaiskelis, the army, and when he returns from military service he will no longer obey his father. This threat can be interpreted as the young man's rebellion and impatience if marriage is delayed. This is one possible meaning, but the motif of youth and the urgency of marriage is clear in the song.

Green Fir Tree: symbols and phrases

Fir tree green only in summer
The fir is green in summer, at the height of beauty, but not in winter. It marks the brief flowering of youth.
"Marry me in autumn"
A request that the father arrange the young man's marriage in autumn. It marks the desire to marry in time.
Threat to enlist in the army
The promise to go into military service if he is not married. It marks the young man's rebellion.
"I will not obey father"
After returning from the army, he says he will no longer obey his father. It marks impatience and disobedience.

Green Fir Tree: song history

"Tu eglute tu zalioji" belongs to youth songs about the urgency of marriage: the fir tree, green only in summer, becomes a comparison for the short-lived beauty of youth, while the young man asks his father to "zanyti" him in autumn, that is, to get him married in time. The song is built with abundant line repetition at the start of each stanza, typical of sung, round-dance forms. A military motif also shows through in the background, because if he does not get married, the young man threatens to "sign up for the army."

The specific place of recording is not given on this page, so the song is presented according to genre features; motifs of youth's blossoming, the proper time for marriage, and rebellion against delay are typical of youth songs. The text is dialectal, with forms such as "zanyk," "vaiskelin," and "paci"; variants of such songs occur in various Lithuanian regions.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, t. 1–23, Vilnius 1980–2011 (LLTI)
  • Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 t., Vilnius 1972–1986

Green Fir Tree: sources