High Juniper Hills lyrics and meaning

Aukšti kalnai kadagynai,
Lygūs laukai žemuogynai.
Ten ka, ten ka,
Ten Kaziūnė jaučius ganė. /2×2

Ganydama sublūdzino,
Šėmus jaučius nutrūtijo.
Šėmus, šėmus,
Šėmus jaučius nutrūtijo. /2×2

Ir sutiko šviesių Jasių,
Klausinėjo šėmų jaučių.
Klausi, klausi,
Klausinėjo šėmų jaučių. /2×2

Tavo jaučiai abariuose
Mes juos radom dobiluose
Mes juos, mes juos
Mes juos radom dobiluose /2×2

Aš tau duosiu du dolerius,
Išvesk jaučius iš abarių.
Išvesk, išvesk,
Išvesk jaučius iš abarių. /2×2

Man nereikia pinigų,
Aš bagotas iš namų
Aš ba, aš ba,
Aš bagotas iš namų /2×2

High Juniper Hills: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a youthful courtship song in which lost oxen become the pretext for a meeting. At the beginning, a beautiful landscape is shown: high hills overgrown with juniper, level fields dotted with wild strawberries. Kaziune herds oxen there, and the idyllic opening creates a bright mood.

While herding, the girl lets the grey oxen stray. Meeting bright Jasius, she asks about the missing animals. He answers that the oxen have been found in the abariai, among the clover. This meeting can be interpreted as an encounter between young people for which the lost oxen provide a convenient occasion.

When the girl offers two dollars for bringing the oxen out, Jasius refuses the money, saying he is rich from home. This refusal can be understood as a display of the young man's worth and independence, and perhaps as a hint that he cares not for payment but for the girl herself. That is one possible meaning, but the courtship character of the song is clear.

High Juniper Hills: symbols and phrases

Juniper hills and strawberry fields
The juniper-covered hills and fields with wild strawberries create the song's idyllic, bright setting.
Grey oxen
The pale grey oxen herded and lost by the girl. Their disappearance becomes the reason she meets the young man.
Abariai
An enclosure or pen where strayed livestock are driven. The lost oxen end up there.
"Rich from home"
A phrase about the young man's wealth and independence. By refusing money, he shows his own worth.

High Juniper Hills: song history

"High Juniper Hills" belongs to youth love and courtship songs in which a meeting begins while animals are being herded. The idyllic opening - juniper-covered hills and fields full of wild strawberries - creates a bright mood, while the strayed grey oxen become the reason for Kaziune and Jasius to meet. This structure, in which lost or searched-for animals bring young people together, is common in courtship songs; repeated refrains such as "Ten ka, ten ka" and "Semus, semus" support a round-dance rhythm.

The exact recording place and time are not given on this page, so the song is presented through its genre features. The young man's final refusal to take money - "I am rich from home" - concentrates the song's meaning in his self-worth and hints that what matters to him is not reward but the girl.

sources

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

High Juniper Hills: sources