I Sat at the Table lyrics and meaning

Už stalo sėdau, gražiai dainavau, /2x
Alutį gėriau, raudona buvau. /2x

Vai ko nubalo mano veideliai? /2x
Ar nuo alučio baltos putelės? /2x

Ar nuo alučio baltos putelės, /2x
Ar apynėlio macnos spurgelės? /2x

Už stalo sėdau gražiai dainavau, /2x
Alutį gėriau, raudona buvau, /2x

I Sat at the Table: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a feast or banquet song. At the beginning, the singer says: I sat at the table, sang beautifully, drank beer, and was red-faced. This image can be read as a cheerful, flushed reveler at a table feast.

Then the song asks why the cheeks became pale: was it from the white foam of the beer, or from the strong cones of the hop? These images can be understood as a playful speculation about what made the cheeks lose color.

Beer foam and hop cones can be interpreted as signs of feasting and merriment. That is one possible meaning, but the banquet and cheerful mood are clear.

I Sat at the Table: symbols and phrases

Table, song, beer
The feast table, singing, and beer being drunk. They mark the banquet mood.
Red cheeks
Cheeks flushed by beer and merriment. They mark the height of feasting.
White foam
The white foam of beer. It marks the feast drink.
Hop cones
Strong hop cones in beer. They mark the beer's strength.

I Sat at the Table: song history

"I Sat at the Table" belongs to feast songs. The genre is shown by its central images: singing at the table, drinking beer, reddened cheeks, and playful questions about beer foam and hop cones. Such songs were sung at banquets and feasts; they are marked by a cheerful, uplifted mood, and the repetition of each line supports communal singing around the table.

The exact place and date of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented through its genre features. The question-and-answer play - why have my cheeks gone pale, was it from the beer's white foam or from the hop's strong cones - is a typical humorous element of feast songs, linking drink with changes of mood.

sources

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

I Sat at the Table: sources