I Am a Wayfarer lyrics and meaning

Aš kėleivis kėleivėlis,
Kėleliu kėliavis.
Ir nuėjis nuvandravis
Į žalioji giri.

Į tą giri, žali giri
Yr ir aukšts kalnėlis.
Į tą giri, žali giri
yr ir aukšts kalnėlis.

Ant to kalna, aukšta kalna
Aug žali lėpeli.
Po ta lėpa, žalia lėpa
Yr ir jods vygėl(is).

Į tą vygį, jodą vygį
Silkų pataleliai.
Po tų silkų patalėlių
Gul jauna mergėl(i).

Aš priėjis pačiūčiavis:
-Kokiam šelmiui teksi:
Aš šiam šaučiui, ar šiam kraučiui,
Ar šiam muzikant(ui)?

-Nei šiam šaučiui, nei šiam kraučiui,
Nei šiam muzikantui,
Bet šiam šelmiui bernužėliui,
Kurs mani čiūčiav(a).

I Am a Wayfarer: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a courtship song whose opening resembles a fairy tale or a dream. A wayfarer travels along a road and wanders into a green forest, where he finds a high hill, a green linden on it, and beneath the linden a dark cradle or bed with silk bedding. This gradual deepening of the scene, from forest to cradle, creates a mysterious and intimate mood.

A young woman lies in the cradle. The wayfarer kisses her and asks which rogue she will belong to: a shoemaker, a tailor, or a musician. This question can be interpreted as a traditional courtship motif in which different craftsmen are proposed as possible bridegrooms.

The young woman's answer is clear: neither the shoemaker, nor the tailor, nor the musician, but that same rogue of a young man who kissed her. This can be understood as her choosing the one who found and loved her. That is one possible meaning, but the courtship and choice motif is plainly visible in the song.

I Am a Wayfarer: symbols and phrases

Wayfarer
The wandering traveler and narrator of the song. He leads the listener into the fairy-tale world of forest and cradle.
Green forest
The dense green woodland where the young woman is found. It creates a mysterious space set apart from everyday life.
Cradle with silk bedding
A cradle or resting place with luxurious silk coverings, where the young woman lies. It emphasizes her preciousness and beauty.
Shoemaker, tailor, musician
Craftsmen named as possible bridegrooms. They stand for different life paths that the young woman refuses for the beloved.

I Am a Wayfarer: song history

"I Am a Wayfarer" belongs to love and courtship songs in which the encounter with a young woman is wrapped in a fairy-tale, almost dreamlike image. The song is composed through gradual narrowing: the wayfarer wanders into a green forest, finds a high hill, on it a green linden, beneath the linden a dark cradle with silk bedding, and in it a young woman. This chain-like narrowing of space, moving from the broad forest to an intimate resting place, is typical of lyrical courtship songs.

The exact place and time of recording for this Dzūkian dialect song are not given on the page, so it is presented by genre. In the second part a traditional courtship motif unfolds: different craftsmen - a shoemaker, a tailor, and a musician - are offered as possible bridegrooms, while the young woman chooses the young man who found and kissed her; this formula of choice recurs in many variants of love songs.

sources

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

I Am a Wayfarer: sources